Now and Forever
by FFGirl15
Summary: Seventeen-year-old Princess Zelda has been arranged to be married to a strange man by her father. But after meeting a certain rancher boy, she'll realize she can't marry this strange man. What happens when the king doesn't approve of her refusal? ZeLink
1. Royal Pain

**Author's Note 1: It's been FOREVER since I last wrote a fanfic! I'm going through a Zelda-obsessed phase, so yeah. You get the picture. Anyway, I know! The title and the summary probably sucks! I couldn't think of what to call it! I may change the title, but for now, that's how it is.**

**Author's Note 2: Also, for this fanfic, at the end of each chapter, I'll be writing one trivia fact about the fanfic.**

**Summary: 17-year-old Princess Zelda is supposed to be married to an already chosen man, but after meeting a certain ranch boy who her father doesn't approve of, Zelda decides to take matters into her own hands.**

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Chapter 1: Royal Pain

_A beautiful spring afternoon greeted a beautiful 17-year-old girl as she stepped outside in her pale pink dress. The cherry blossoms were just being born, baby birds were just hatching, and the wind was blowing so peacefully you could almost say that the winds were singing. The girl allowed a blue baby bird, who was trying to learn how to fly, fall into her hands. She stroked the baby bird on its head and lifted her hands up so he can try flying again._

_The wind blew through her long blonde hair that grew down to her waist. Strands flew about in front of her face. She shut her blue eyes and took in the beautiful springtime weather. Just as she turned around to move to another area of the castle courtyard, she heard the trotting of a horse. Turning around, she was greeted with a young man about her age sitting on top of the horse._

"_Princess…Zelda…" The young man had an angelic voice._

"_Y-Yes?" Zelda walked up to him obviously shy of his charms._

"_I've come to take you."_

"_Where?"_

"_Anywhere…far…from here." The young man said._

_Zelda's questioning look turned into a wide grin. The young man held out his hand and she grabbed it. He pulled her onto his horse and the began to ride off together. Not caring about not being able to see his face, she leaned in to kiss him. _

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"Zelda!"

The wonderful dream that Zelda was having _had _to be interrupted by the most obnoxious knock on her door. Realizing that she was about to kiss her pillow, Zelda sighed out of frustration and humiliation.

"What, Impa?" She called back.

"Time for archery competition!" Impa replied knocking on the door again. "You know how your father likes it when you attend these things."

"Yes, Impa, I know." Zelda said annoyed.

Not wanting to go to the competition, Zelda reluctantly got out of bed, slipped into her bathroom to take a shower, and put on her outdoor dress. It was light blue with pink under dress. She hated having to wear specific dresses for specific reasons to specific events. Who cares if she wanted to wear her white dress? Why does anybody care? Well, it's not like she could've done anything about it anyway.

Zelda walked out of her room all cleaned up and ready to go. She greeted Impa, her attendant and main guardian, outside in the hallway. Impa and Zelda walked together out to the castle courtyard where her father, King Harkinian was waiting with a few of the castle soldiers. Like always, Zelda and the king had to walk this procession walk before the competition.

"Good to see you're finally awake." King Harkinian greeted his daughter.

"Just a question, dad, is kissing the winner _really _necessary?"

"Of course! The prize of the golden arrow, worth 10,000 rupees, and a kiss from the princess herself is sure to be ideal!"

"I know, dad!" Zelda argued. "But, some of these guys are either perverts, too young for my taste, or just plain disgusting."

"Zelda!" King Harkinian scolded. "Where's that kind of talk coming from? These are your people! If you want to make a good queen one day, you have to appreciate every last Kokiri, Goron, Zora, Gerudo, and Hylian! No matter who they are!"

"Your majesty." One of the soldiers approached the king. "The archers are ready, it's time to start the procession."

"Perfect!"

"Yeah, just plain perfect." Zelda muttered.

"It's like I always say, 'this too shall pass'." Impa said to Zelda.

"That's what you said the last time and I'm still being haunted by the kiss I had to give to that Kokiri."

Reluctantly, Zelda joined her father at the start of the procession route. Some horse riders started walking down the line playing the Song of Time on their trumpets. The trumpet players were followed by a group of castle soldiers, who were then followed by King Harkinian, Zelda, and Impa. The procession ended with the archers, eight of them, walking behind the Royal Family. At the end of the procession, Zelda and her father took their seats on two throne seats that had a perfect view of both the targets and the archers. The archers awaited for the competition to start by the thrones. One in particular tried to flirt with Zelda.

"Hey Zelda, you tired?" He asked her.

"Well, I woke up about an hour ago, but no, I'm not tired." Zelda answered. "Why?"

"'Cause you've been runnin' through my mind all day." He answered smoothly.

"Sorry, you're not my type." Zelda said.

"Well, excuuuuuuuuse me. I didn't know the fair Princess Zelda had a type."

"Well, excuse me. I didn't know you used cheesy pickup lines."

"Zelda, that's enough." King Harkinian interrupted them. "This young man is up first."

"I'll be back for my kiss." The obnoxious archer growled before moving up to the target.

"Kiss my ass." Zelda muttered to herself.

As much as she enjoyed archery, Zelda absolutely hated attending the tournament. One of the biggest rewards that any young man could get is a kiss from the princess, so Zelda didn't have a choice but to be there. She always dreaded the kiss at the end. At the last competition the month before, Zelda had to kiss a 10-year-old Kokiri. As impressed as she was by his skill, she would've much rather kissed a young man closer to her age. However, at least she only had to peck the Kokiri on the cheek.

The archery competition was close this month. The obnoxious archer that flirted with Zelda before the competition kept keeping a lead. Zelda actually found herself praying to the Goddesses that one of the other young fellows won the competition. There was one young archer that she found particularly interesting. He happened to enter the competition at the very last minute, in fact, just as the competition was starting. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and worse a green tunic and cap with white under armor. This young man and the obnoxious archer were the two that kept leading on. Zelda found the green tunic boy quite attractive and hoped that of all people, he be the winner.

"Looks like we have a close competition." King Harkinian pointed out. He noticed Zelda watching the green tunic boy. "I see you're interested in that young lad."

"Well, he is quite handsome and a good archer." Zelda admitted.

"If you two are lucky, he'll win the competition. He'll get his 10,000 rupee arrow and a kiss from you and you will kiss him as well."

"Y-Yeah." Zelda blushed. Her father was right.

The competition was nearing the end. The obnoxious archer and the green tunic boy were the only two left for the final round. The final round included the archer having the target moved back an amount of yards of their choice and then they have to shoot the target from that distance. The score of that round is determined by where you hit the target like usual. If both archers hit a bullseye, then the archer whose target was further back gets a higher score. So far, both archers were, amazingly, tied with identical scores. The obnoxious archer seemed confident and was readying himself for his kiss from Zelda while the other archer just seemed calm and waited patiently for the start. The obnoxious archer was called up first.

"Good luck, you'll need it." The obnoxious archer smirked. "After all, it takes a true man to win a kiss from the princess of Hyrule."

"It takes a true man to respect a lady." The green tunic boy added on.

Zelda watched as the obnoxious archer nearly shoved the green tunic boy out of his way. She felt the urge to go up and smack him, but due to being the princess of Hyrule, she had to keep it professional. She watched as one of the castle soldiers picked up the target ready to move it.

"300 yards." The obnoxious archer said. The soldier moved the target back three hundred yards. He shot the arrow and got a bullseye.

"Dammit!" Zelda cursed.

"What?" King Harkinian asked swearing he heard his daughter curse.

"I mean…darn it." Zelda wasn't allowed to curse.

Up next was the green tunic boy. He watched as the obnoxious archer brushed past him calling him a "fairy boy" because of the way his clothes looked similar to that of the Kokiri clothing. He brushed off the insult and stepped up to the boundary line. The castle soldier brought the target back up and asked the archer how many yards he wanted.

"500 yards." He simply answered.

"What?" Zelda asked in shock.

"No…" Impa said in disbelief.

"That's impossible! Nobody can shoot a perfect bullseye that far!" King Harkinian watched with interest.

"Looks like I'll be kissing Mr. Pickup." Zelda groaned.

Ready to take his position, the green tunic boy took out his last arrow and put it to the bow. The crowd silenced. He drew back the arrow and aimed. While he was aiming, he shut his eyes and took in a few deep breaths. As soon as he felt ready, he let go of the arrow not even bothering to open his eyes. Zelda, Impa, and the king all watched with anticipation wondering how this shot was going to go down. Within a few seconds of being shot, the arrow hit the target.

"Ha! Looks like I'm getting the kiss from the princess!" The obnoxious archer laughed at his opponent's face.

"BULLSEYE!" Shouted the castle soldier from the 500 yards.

"WHAT?" The obnoxious archer cried.

"YES!" Zelda cheered. She had never cheered at an archery competition like this before. So happy, she hugged Impa. "Looks like some obnoxious brat isn't getting their kiss today."

"Looks like you've learned a lesson here." The winner of the competition said as he passed the obnoxious archer. "You can't get what you want by being a jerk."

The winner of the competition walked up to King Harkinian and Zelda. The king stood up from his throne and applauded for the winner along with Zelda and Impa. The whole crowd started to applaud as well.

"Young man, you have shown great skill." The king complimented.

"Thank you, your majesty." The winner bowed out of respect. "It was an honor to enter this competition, even if it was at the last minute."

"Well, it was an honor to have you compete in this month's competition." Zelda said.

"And now, for your prize, we'd like to reward you with this: the golden arrow." King Harkinian said as Impa handed him the arrow. The king held the arrow out to the winner of the competition. "In addition to the golden arrow, which is worth 10,000 rupees, you also win the opportunity to receive a kiss from my lovely daughter, Zelda."

Zelda's eyes sparkled at the words _kiss_. She couldn't believe it. She was actually going to kiss a handsome young man who was polite and had complete respect for her and her father. She smiled at the winner and he cracked a slight crooked smile in her direction before turning his attention back to the king.

"Thank you, your highness, but that won't be necessary." He said.

"WHAT?" Zelda asked in shock.

"Princess Zelda, you are a princess and a princess is not a prize to be won." The winner said to her. "I have no need for the golden arrow either. Give it to someone who needs the rupees more than I do. As for you, Princess…" The winner took her hand in his and he kissed it. "…it was an honor to meet you."

The winner of the competition walked over to where his horse was parked and he climbed on top of her. Within seconds, he got the horse going and they went dashing out into Hyrule Field. His sudden disperse left Zelda, the king, and Impa all in shock. Did he really just refuse the prize like that? What was the point of entering the competition then? As handsome and polite as he was, Zelda almost felt like wanting to smack him for keeping her waiting and then to just ditch her like that. She groaned out of frustration and then stood up assuming the it was over and time to return to the castle.

"Well, that was interesting." Zelda said as she began to leave.

"Not so fast, Zelda." Her father stopped her.

"What?" She asked annoyed.

"In the event that the winner, for some reason, cannot accept the prize, then the prize will go to the second place winner, which means…"

"OH YES!" The obnoxious archer cried out. "Pucker up, Princess!"

"Ugh…" Zelda groaned.

Zelda sat outside on her balcony during the late afternoon. She felt sick and disgusted after giving that one obnoxious archer the kiss. He completely went overboard with it. Even her father agreed. As terrible as the competition turned out at the end, Zelda actually enjoyed it for the first time. She wondered about that one archer, the one who wore the green tunic. He seemed so mysterious the way he just took off afterwards. He didn't accept any of the rewards. He refused the golden arrow, which is highly rare for someone who is not of royal status, and the kiss from the princess, which is supposedly every young man's dream. She wished she could've at least gotten his name or at least knew where to find him so she could meet him one more time.

Impa came into Zelda's room to let her know that her father needed her down in the dining hall within the next half hour. She saw the princess sitting and gazing away outside the balcony. Curious as to what she was thinking, Impa walked outside the balcony and joined the princess. Impa always served as a motherly figure to Zelda since the queen passed away when the princess was at a very young age.

"Still disgusted from that kiss?" Impa asked.

"Yes." Zelda wiped her lips for what seemed like the twentieth time that afternoon. "Gross, I never want to kiss someone like that again. I'd rather kiss a Goron."

"Well, good to know that you now have a wide variety of taste."

"Yeah." Zelda mumbled.

"Let me guess, you're thinking about that one boy?"

"How'd you guess?"

"I was your age once. I know how it is. You see a boy, you become interested in him, and he suddenly disappears."

"But, I thought the Sheikah couldn't fall in love?" Zelda asked.

"They can't, which is why I never told anybody."

"Wow, sneaky." Zelda said playfully

"I never was all _serious business_." Impa chuckled.

"You don't say."

The two women had a good laugh together. As annoying as Impa could be sometimes due to her maternal nature, Zelda enjoyed having these moments. She never really had a mother, and she couldn't go to her father to talk about this kind of stuff, so having these kinds of talks with Impa really did her good.

"By the way, your father wants you down in the dining hall in the next half an hour. He has someone he wants you to meet." Impa pointed out.

"Okay, sounds good." Zelda said as Impa walked out. "Uh…Impa?"

"Yes?"

"Could I talk to you about something?" Zelda asked. "It's about a dream I keep on having."

"Okay, let's hear it." Impa said as she sat back down.

"Well, it's weird, but it's always springtime. I stroke a baby bird and I send him flying his way. And as I turn to walk away, I hear these horse steps. I turn back around and I see a young man on top of the horse saying that he has come to take me far away."

"Hmm…interesting. Do you recognize the young man?"

"No, he's nothing but a shadow."

"Well Zelda," Impa chuckled. "I'd say you're dreaming about love."

"Since when? I never really cared about love." Zelda asked. "I was always the type who thought anything romantic was gross."

"Zelda, you're a mature young woman. As women mature, so does their perspective on certain things. You're of the age where you can marry. It's natural to think about those things. Soon enough, once you're married, you'll start thinking about children."

"Whoa Impa! I'm not even seeing anyone right now!" Zelda interrupted her.

"Don't worry about it Zelda." Impa advised. "It's only a dream."

"Right…only a dream." Zelda repeated to herself.

Just as her father requested, Zelda went down to the dining hall within the half hour. She could see that her father was talking with a very tall man in the dining hall. The tall man threw her off a little considering he didn't look that much the friendliest. His skin was a pale green and he golden orange eyes. His long hair was also a reddish orange and pulled into a low ponytail. Zelda made her way inside and then cut in on their conversation.

"Mind if I cut in?" She asked.

"Oh! Zelda! Perfect timing!" The king greeted Zelda happily. Just as King Harkinian made his way over to the princess, the strange man caught Zelda's eyes. "Zelda, I'd like you to meet Ganondorf. He hails far from the west."

"My lady." Ganondorf bowed. "It is an honor." He kissed her hand.

"Um…thank you." Zelda turned to her father. "What brings Ganondorf here?"

"Oh I'll tell you at dinner!"

Dinner came twenty minutes later. Zelda and Impa were silent all through the meal while Ganondorf and the king were chatting it up like good friends who hadn't seen each other in years. There was a point in the meal where Zelda just grew too awkward and had to ask her father what he needed to tell her. As much as she wanted to, she always hated interrupting conversations. She had seen people get interrupted in the town market and they're not very happy when they're interrupted. Still, Zelda couldn't bear to feel awkward anymore.

"Um…Dad?" Zelda cut in. "What was it you needed to tell me?"

"Right!" The king remembered. "Well Zelda, you know you're of age where you need to start considering a suitor to marry."

"Right, the "m" word." Zelda said.

As much as she wanted to find the right guy, Zelda didn't want to get married. She felt marriage was too complicated. She had seen unmarried couples all the time, so she felt she could survive without marriage as well. The only problem Zelda had with that was that the king wants grandchildren. Zelda didn't want to have kids either. So, you could say that the princess was in kind of a bad situation at this time in her life. Zelda didn't even know what she wanted out of life yet. She just turned 17 not too long ago and came of age at 16. It was all moving too quick for her.

"Well," King Harkinian started. "I'm proud to say this. Ganondorf has asked to seek your hand in marriage."

Out of shock, Impa, who was drinking, spit out her beverage and Zelda started choking on a piece of chicken. Impa helped Zelda out and got rid of the chicken. It took Zelda a minute to recuperate and remember what her father said.

"Did you just say that Ganondorf wants to marry me?" Zelda asked.

"We'll be the happiest couple in Hyrule." Ganondorf replied.

'More like the most bizarre.' Zelda thought to herself.

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**Author's Note: Wow! Didn't expect that coming! Thanks for reading and hope you guys can leave a review! Reviews keep me motivated!**

**And now, here's the first trivia fact of the fanfic!**

**Trivia: The personality of the obnoxious archer from the archery competition was based on Link's personality from 80s The Legend of Zelda cartoon. I felt that Link's personality from that show was PERFECT for that character!**


	2. Kakariko Days

**Author's Note: Yay! Chapter 2! I'm really having a ball writing this fic! Please read and review! By the way, this fanfic takes place in the Ocarina of Time Hyrule and I'll be using the 24-hour clock whenever the time is mentioned like it's used in the game.**

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Chapter 2: Kakariko Days

Zelda sat there in shock at the dining hall table. Marry Ganondorf? Of all people, Ganondorf? He didn't even look Hylian and he definitely didn't resemble the young man from her dream. After the news was broken, Ganondorf excused himself from the table to go take his horse into the stable. Impa assumed that the king was going to want to talk to the princess alone, so she excused herself as well. Zelda waited for what her father had to say. She was honestly waiting for him to scold her for the way she reacted. Well, how else did you expect her to react?

"So Zelda, what do you think of Ganondorf?" The king asked.

"Well, he so…well…how can I put this without sounding harsh? He's much older than I am. I don't think that's very good." Zelda replied.

"I know he's a little older than the rest of the young suitors, but Ganondorf will make a fine husband. He is a great swordsman, so he can protect you easily."

"Dad, I don't need protection that much."

"Zelda, you're the princess of Hyrule! How can you say you don't need protection?"

"It's just that…" Zelda started to say. "Never mind."

"Besides Zelda, you need a husband beside you to help rule Hyrule when I resign my place and hand off the crown." The king pointed out.

"But you're not married."

"I _was _married before my father passed the crown off to me. As soon as we became King and Queen, we had you." King Harkinian sighed. "Oh, I remember holding you for the first time, how small and delicate you were."

"Dad!" Zelda blushed. She loved seeing her dad sparkle when he talked about her birth.

"Now, you've grown up into a fine woman. I'd want to be taken care of during your time of rule. And I'd like to see some grandchildren too."

"Dad, I'm not even married yet. Let's not talk about children."

After Zelda's little comment, she excused herself from the table. She needed some time to think about this. She couldn't believe that she was going to be marrying Ganondorf. Zelda was good at arguing and would've fought her way out of the marriage, but Zelda knew that all her father wanted was to have a man beside her to take care of. Maybe this "marriage" could turn out as more of a "bodyguard for the princess" sort of relationship, and maybe she wouldn't have to romantically get involved with him at all. Besides, Zelda didn't want kids, let alone, Ganondorf's kids! Zelda shuddered at the thought.

Later that evening, Zelda spent a good amount of time in the library. She wanted to know more about this marriage thing. Since she never really had a mom, she never had a glimpse of what married life is like. It took a while, but Zelda finally found the book she was looking for. It was on a very high shelf. Zelda tried reaching for it, but alas, she couldn't reach it. Impa had always told Zelda a million times that if she couldn't reach for something, she should ask someone taller. Zelda was stubborn though. She was always the type of girl who thought asking people for help was a sign of being weak. Zelda climbed all the way to the top of the ladder and still couldn't reach the book.

"Princess?" Zelda heard a gruff voice inside. She looked behind her and saw Ganondorf looking at her curiously.

"H-Hello." She greeted him nervously.

"You shouldn't be way up there on that tall ladder. It's dangerous!" Ganondorf said.

"I just needed to get a book, that's all."

"Well, why don't I get it for you?"

"Oh no!" Zelda refused. "It's okay. I should be turning in for the night anyway."

Zelda slowly made her way down the ladder. She was about to just leave the library and attempted to ignore Ganondorf, but she didn't get away that easily. In fact, Zelda was never that good at getting away with it.

"You know Zelda, I really am looking forward to this marriage." Ganondorf pointed out. As gruff as his voice was, Zelda had to admit that he did sound very happy about the marriage happening. "And I'm sure the rest of the kingdom will too."

"The rest of the kingdom?" Zelda asked.

"Of course! We'll announce our engagement tomorrow night at the ball!"

"Wonderful." She said with fake enthusiasm.

"Then, in a matter of two weeks, we'll be married." Ganondorf wrapped his arms around Zelda. She didn't know what to think. "And we'll be ruling the kingdom one day as king and queen of Hyrule."

"Yeah…" Zelda laughed nervously. She was hoping he never mentioned children.

"And I haven't forgotten about the children."

'_Great…'_ Zelda thought to herself.

"I think…" Ganondorf thought long and hard for a moment. "Six or seven young sons will do it for us."

"Or none." Zelda mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing! I'll see you tomorrow!"

The princess made her way up to her room. Man, what a day! First she had the most disgusting kiss with the obnoxious archer, then she finds out she's getting married in two weeks! And chances are that Ganondorf will immediately want to start trying to their first child. Great! What next? Zelda was really starting to get sick of all this royal stuff. She didn't want everyone in the whole kingdom knowing about her marriage to Ganondorf and she definitely didn't want to have six kids with him! She didn't even want any to begin with!

Zelda changed into her nightgown and got into her bed. She stared out the balcony wondering why she had all these limitations. She was a princess. Doesn't being royal give you _un_limitations such as unlimited money, unlimited fame, and unlimited free items when shopping in the market? Apparently, not in this generation. Zelda groaned and lay down on her bed. She now had a tremendous headache. Whenever a headache occurred, a green potion always did her good. Sadly, she didn't have one right now.

Impa came in and found the princess collapsed on her bed. Assuming she was asleep, Impa started to leave the room so she could let Zelda sleep.

"You can come in, Impa." Zelda said with her eyes shut.

"I thought you were asleep." She said coming in and sitting at the foot of the bed. "You look stressed out."

"You can say that again."

"I know marriage isn't what you expected, but, as much as I dislike Ganondorf, it'll all work out. It usually does." Impa advised Zelda.

"I don't know Impa. I just don't feel like I'm ready to give my whole life to another man, let alone a man that I only met today!" Zelda sighed. "Man, life in royalty sucks sometimes."

Impa knew that it had been rough for Zelda for the past year and a half. Life was so much simpler back when Zelda was a young girl. Now that she's a young woman and of age, life is becoming way more complicated than it needed to be. The topics of marriage, the throne, and just the state of the kingdom in general. Now that she was an adult, Zelda had to be let in on all that now. The princess missed the days of playing in the castle courtyard with the birds. Now, there was no time for playtime, but there was time to get out.

"Tell you what," Impa started. "I'll be going to Kakariko Village tomorrow to visit some close friends and deliver invitations to the ball. Why don't you join me?"

"Oh my gosh! Yes! Thanks Impa!" Zelda hugged Impa tightly. The princess hardly ever got any time outside the palace, so whenever she did get it, it was a blessing.

"Okay, we'll leave tomorrow at 9:00. Don't oversleep."

"I won't! Good-night!"

Zelda woke up the next morning early at 7:00. She couldn't believe she was going to actually get some time to go to Kakariko! Zelda loved Kakariko. The people were all very friendly with her and with each other. She also wanted to see the construction that was going on a few years ago completed. Zelda also liked visiting the graveyard to pay her respect to her late mother. Impa wasn't a fan of them expanding the town, but the town needed a school, so how can anyone complain?

At 9:00, Zelda met with Impa down at the stable. Impa couldn't help but ask about Zelda's outfit for that day. It was sort of a combat outfit. A pink shirt, with black shorts and purple tights underneath it. She also wore combat boots. Zelda was the type who wasn't' a fan of getting recognized, so she wore a cloak over herself. Now that she was finally going to Kakariko, Zelda was finally going to be able to ride her horse, Daisuke, which she got for her 16th birthday, for the first time. She always spent time with her horse at the stables, but never rode him because of the lack of space in the castle courtyard. Zelda opened the stall and pet the brown horse. She gave him a carrot and then mounted on top of him. Impa did the same for her white horse, Yuki. Impa, with a small sack of invitations, led Zelda out of the castle and the two went cantering over to the village.

Once they arrived at Kakariko, Zelda couldn't contain her excitement any longer. She grabbed Daisuke by the reigns and pulled him up the hill to the village. (I know there's stairs in the game, but I changed it!) At the top of the hill, Zelda slowly walked in and saw how different the town was from the last time she visited. There was a school, a shooting gallery, new shops, and even some new houses. The construction workers really outdid themselves on this project. She liked it!

"Okay, I have to run these invitations to the villagers' houses and then I'm going to meet with some good friends. Stay in town, okay?" Impa said.

"Well here, let me help you with those." Zelda reached into the sack and took a bunch. "I may be a princess, but that doesn't mean I can't do a little work."

Impa smiled at the princess and went on to do her delivering. Zelda, with Daisuke's reigns in hand, walked along the town. She couldn't believe how much nicer this town was than Hyrule Castle Town Market. Everyone at the castle town was pushy, rude, and just stuck up because they're of higher status than the villagers in Kakariko. Zelda couldn't help but smile at some young ladies who were buying lemonade from these two young boys. Zelda decided that she was getting kind of thirsty. She walked over to the stand and the boys immediately recognized who she was.

"P-Princess Zelda?" The older boy stuttered.

"Good morning, boys. Selling lemonade, I assume?"

"Y-Yes, your highness!" The younger boy grabbed a cup and gave it to her. "Here! Fresh lemonade, no charge!"

"How sweet." Zelda said taking the lemonade. She reached into her wallet and pulled out two yellow rupees, worth 200 rupees each, and gave one to each of the boys. It was very rare for a villager of Kakariko to get their hands on a yellow rupee. "Keep it. You could use it."

"No way! I got 200 rupees!" The younger boy cried.

"Me too!" The older boy cheered.

Zelda sipped her drink and she walked around with Daisuke more. As she passed one house, she saw a horse with a carriage attached. The horse looked strangely familiar to Zelda. She liked her, though. Zelda started to pet the horse, but she got spooked causing Daisuke to get spooked. Daisuke backed up and knocked over four bottles of Lon Lon Milk that were placed in front of the house.

"Oh shoot!" Zelda said after she saw what Daisuke did. "Man, whoever owns this house won't be happy." The princess started to clean up the broken glass.

"Hey, don't worry about it." A familiar voice said to her. She turned around and saw the most beautiful set of blue eyes she ever made contact with. Zelda recognized those eyes. She knew she wasn't seeing things.

"You…" Zelda started. "You're the winner of the archery competition, aren't you?"

"Good to see you again, Princess." He said. The boy's voice was just as angelic as it was on that day at the archery competition.

"I'm so sorry about the milk. Let me pay for that." Zelda began to pull out her wallet, but the boy stopped her.

"You don't have to. Talon packs a lot of backup crates in case something like this does happen."

"Right. Still, sorry about that." She picked up a piece of glass and accidentally cut the palm of her hand. "Ow!"

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, just a scratch." The boy saw Zelda's scratch on her hand and took it.

"That looks kind of deep. We should at least clean it up and get a bandage on it."

Zelda followed the boy over to the carriage. He hopped in and found a box full of first aid items. Inside the box included bandages and medicine. He took a pouch some blue sap and a bandage before hopping back out of the carriage at Zelda's level. He took her hand and started to rub the blue sap on the cut.

"This is made from the trees over at Zora's Fountain. It helps kill germs and coldness eases the pain." The boy said. Zelda didn't care about the pain, she was intrigued by how caring he was for her. He noticed she was staring into his eyes. "You okay?"

"I'm sorry. I never got your name." Zelda answered.

"Link." He answered.

"Link…" She repeated. Link had finished wrapping the bandage around her hand before she even knew it.

"There you go. Be sure to remove it once a day and change the bandage to prevent infection." Link mentioned as he put the sap away in the carriage again.

"Thank you." Zelda thanked him.

"By the way, sorry about Epona. She's not a fan of strangers."

"It's okay." Zelda laughed. She and Link held each other's gaze for a short time before Link broke it and grabbed another crate.

"Well, I should get back to delivering this milk. I'm behind schedule." Link took Zelda's hand in his. "Princess, it was nice seeing you again." He kissed her hand.

"No need to call me that." Zelda blushed.

"Fair enough, Zelda." Link flashed a grin at her before grabbing Epona by the reigns and pulling her through town. Zelda suddenly got an idea. She ran after Link.

"Wait, Link!" Zelda called after him. Link stopped and let her catch up to him. "Here." She pulled out an invitation to the ball. "There's a ball tonight and I'd like to invite you."

"Really? Thanks." Link thanked her. He had never been to one of those balls before. "Um, I don't meant to sound pushy or anything, but do you think maybe I can bring a couple family members along?"

"Absolutely!" She pulled out two more invitations and handed them to Link. "It starts tonight at 20:00."

"All right then, I'll be there."

With that, Link started making his way through town with the three invitations in hand. Zelda couldn't help but watch him walk through the small town. Wow, of all people to run into. Zelda couldn't have been more happier. Not to mention he was actually going to the ball that night as well! Zelda stroked Daisuke and began to pull him through town and deliver the invitations. While delivering, she happened to run into Impa, who had just gotten finished and was heading over to her friend's house.

"Zelda, you're not finished delivering? You had less than me." Impa said surprised.

"Sorry, I had a little run-in with someone." Zelda said blushing.

"Was it that boy from the competition?"

"How'd you know?"

"You're madly blushing." Impa laughed. Zelda tried to cover her blush.

"Yes…I saw him again. I learned his name too. Link…" She repeated his name. "I also invited him to the ball tonight."

"That's great, Princess, but just be careful if you're around him tonight. Ganondorf _will _be there tonight. After all, it is celebrating your engagement." Impa reminded her.

Zelda cursed to herself in her head. She completely forgot about Ganondorf! In fact, she forgot all about the fact that was getting married! At least the ball will be interesting for Zelda that night.

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**Author's Note: Oh yeah! Woops, look like Zelda's in a big pickle right now! How will the ball go? You'll just have to wait until chapter 3! **

**But first, trivia time!**

**Trivia: The way Zelda met Link is based on a true story of how my mom met my dad! I just had to use it! It was perfect for them!**


	3. The Ball

**Author's Note: Yeah I'm on a roll here! Hope you guys are really enjoying this! Anyway, you'll like this next chapter!**

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Chapter 3: The Ball

Link walked out of Kakariko Village after delivering his last bottle of milk. There were about three extra backup crates left. He pet Epona and stroked her neck before hopping onto the carriage. He smacked the reigns signaling Epona to start moving. The duo made their way back over to Lon Lon Ranch. Link lived in Lon Lon Ranch with the owner, Talon, and Talon's daughter, Malon. Link's parents died when he was about two years old and Talon happened to find him playing around the stable after his parents' death. Talon spent time searching Hyrule to see if anyone reported a missing child. No reports, so he decided to adopt Link and make him part of the family. The upside to that is Link didn't have to live life as a lone orphan. The downside is that by living on a ranch, he had to help out with the ranch chores, but it was worth it to have a family that cared about him.

Back at the ranch, Link rode Epona up to the stable and released her from the carriage. He watched as Malon, the beautiful, red-headed daughter of Talon, come out from the stable carrying a heavy bucket full of cow's milk. Link loved Malon like a little sister and two even acted like siblings even though they weren't related.

"Hey Link, how about getting the door?" Malon asked as she made her way over to the shack where they got the milk ready to be delivered the next day.

"Sure." Link opened the door for Malon and followed her in. "Hey, you'll never guess who I saw in Kakariko today."

"Who?"

"The princess, Zelda."

"No way! _The _Princess Zelda!"

"Yep. Look what she gave us." Link pulled out the invitations and showed them to Malon. "She said I could invite you and Talon as well."

"Whoa! This is awesome! I've never been to a ball before!" Malon cried out. "How? How'd you get yourself invited?"

"I don't know. I know the princess accidentally cut herself, but I only patched it up. Nothing major really."

"That's peculiar. But, who cares? We're going to a ball!"

"But wait a minute." Link interrupted her. "This is going to be a very formal event. What are we gonna wear?"

"I have a nice dress that I always save for parties." Malon answered.

"But I don't have anything to wear."

"Don't worry, Dad will find something for you. Now come on, let's finish the chores so we can be ready in time!"

The afternoon passed and soon came the evening. Link and Malon finished their chores on time, so they were able to get ready for the ball at a decent hour. Malon had a yellow dress with ruffles at the ends and she put her reddish orange hair in a bun. She also wore red dangling earrings that used to belong to her late mother (lots of late mothers, huh?). Talon wore a suit and bowtie while poor Link had no idea what to wear. He had never been to any of these formal events before. He only had his ranch clothes, his green tunic, and his sleepwear.

"Here you go, this'll be perfect." Talon handed Link a red tunic with some golden armor on it (looks like the magic tunic from Twilight Princess). Link was in awe of how formal it looked.

"Where'd you get that?" Link asked.

"My father was once a knight of Hyrule. This was his tunic and he wore it with pride. Unfortunately, he was paralyzed from the waist down after a brutal battle, so he had to give up that life. Wear this tunic with pride just as he did." Talon replied.

"Oh, I will, sir." Link then changed into it. Malon was ready to go.

"You look beautiful, Malon." Talon complimented his daughter.

"Thank you, dad!" She kissed her dad on the cheek before knocking on the bathroom door waiting for Link to come out. "Link! Hurry up! I have to go!"

"Hold on a sec!"

Link came out all dressed up in the tunic. He took a peek at himself in the mirror and realized that he actually looked good in it. Link adjusted the red and gold cap on his head.

"Talon, why do I feel nervous about this ball?" Link asked.

"Well, the princess _is _going to be there."

"I know, but…I still don't get why I'm nervous."

"It's kind of obvious." Malon started. "You're all gaga over the princess."

"No." Link said blushing. "Although, she is really pretty."

"Don't worry about it, Link." Talon chuckled. "You'll be fine."

When they were all ready, Link and Malon climbed onto the back of the carriage while Talon climbed into the front. They started making their way over to Hyrule Castle.

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Zelda stood in her room making sure everything looked good on her. She was really going to have to make a good impression tonight. She wore her pink dress with a violet torso and gold shoulders (looks like the Twilight Princess dress except pink). Zelda's hair hung down, but was semi-curled at the end. Her Triforce earrings dangled about an inch from her ears and glowed with the moonlight. Zelda could only look at herself and sigh. After tonight, it was going to be nonstop talk about the wedding.

Impa came in and could plainly see that Zelda was nervous about that evening. She had a box with her and stood next to the princess after coming in.

"Nervous?" Impa asked.

"A little."

"Well, tonight you and Ganondorf announce the engagement."

"I'm not. I'm leaving Ganondorf to announce it all on his own because I personally don't approve of him, but I'm a princess, so I don't have a choice." Zelda said bummed.

"Well, at least your friend from Kakariko will be there."

"Yeah, but knowing Ganondorf, I may not be able to spend any time with him at all."

"I'm sure if you let him know that you and…whatever his name is-" Impa started.

"-Link." Zelda cut in. "His name is Link."

"Right, Link. Just let Ganondorf know that you and Link are just friends and he'll understand."

"I hope you're right."

"Just don't let it get to your head." Impa warned. "Link _is _a charming young fellow and I know what tends to happen to young girls who are around those kinds of guys."

"I won't. As much as I dislike Ganondorf, it's my father's choice, and I'll honor my father's choice." Zelda reluctantly said.

"You're your father's daughter, that's for sure." Impa then opened the small box. "Your father wanted me to give you this." In the box was a necklace with the Triforce at the end of it. "It was your mother's and she wore it when your father proposed to her. He said that your mother always wanted to pass this down to you."

"It's beautiful." Zelda gazed at the gold as Impa handed it to her. Impa helped put the necklace around her neck.

"Well, you're ready. The ball is starting."

"Right." Zelda said taking a deep breath. Her last day of freedom was officially over.

* * *

The ball was as crowded as any other ball. There was an orchestra playing come classical music that Zelda always enjoyed listening to on her record player, except for it was more enjoyable live. She saw couples dancing, friends and family chatting while enjoying some wine, and some munching on the appetizing ordurves. Zelda looked around the ballroom searching for Link. There was so much she wanted to ask him about. She never got a change to talk to him that much in Kakariko, so this was the night before Ganondorf had her for life.

One of the servants offered a glass of wine to Zelda, she accepted one and drank it while looking around for Link. While drinking her wine, she felt someone place a hand on her shoulder. Zelda turned around assuming it was Link only to be welcomed by a much larger man who also happened to be marrying her. Ganondorf, just the person she really wanted to see at the moment.

"You look beautiful, Princess." Ganondorf said in his usual gruff voice.

"Thank you." She thanked him.

"When would you like to announce our engagement?"

"Actually, I think I might have you or my dad do it. I just get stage fright." Zelda lied. She actually had no stage fright, she just didn't want to announce the engagement because of how much she hated it.

"Is that so? Well, when should it be done?" He asked again.

"Later. First, I'd like to go dance with one of my friends."

"Very well then. I'll let you go."

Ganondorf placed his hand on her shoulder and then left her. As much as Zelda didn't want to marry Ganondorf, she had to admit that he was doing a good job respecting the fact that she needed her personal space and her own personal time with her own personal friends. Zelda finished her wine and then moved along looking for Link again. Instead, she ended up running into a good friend of hers. She wasn't a Hylian. She was of the Zora race. She had bluish white skin and wore a green dress.

"Ruto!" Zelda greeted the Zora.

"Girl! It's been forever!" Ruto greeted Zelda.

"I know! I'm like never allowed out of the palace anymore!"

"That's dumb. I go wherever the heck I want." Ruto scoffed.

"Yeah, but I'm not princess of the Zoras, I'm princess of Hyrule making me a bigger target for all of that dangerous stuff."

"True." Ruto agreed. "So, why the sudden party? Usually there's only a ball for your birthday, your father's birthday, or Christmas."

"I'm getting married." Zelda said unexcited.

"Doesn't sound like you're very excited."

"I'm not. My father's making me marry some older guy that I just met yesterday!"

"I remember wishing I was princess of Hyrule, but now that I think about, I'm glad I'm just the Zora princess." Ruto thought out loud.

"I know. I'm starting to get sick of life in royalty. I actually _want _to become a peasant."

"That's strange."

"Tell me about it. My father thinks I'm nuts for thinking that way." Zelda sighed.

"Well hey, on the bright side, maybe your betrothal is cute?"

"Oh, he's not cute at all. Now Link, he _is _cute."

"Who's Link?" Ruto asked interested.

"A rancher boy I met in Kakariko Village today. I invited him to the ball, but I don't know if he showed up or not." Zelda said sadly.

"Well, don't worry about it. There are plenty of fish in the sea…" Ruto started to say. "…like that cutie over there."

"Who?"

Zelda looked around and gasped when she saw who it was. He wore a red tunic with golden armor. His cap also had some golden decoration on it.

"Zelda, do you know him?" Ruto asked.

"Yes."

"Who is it?"

"That's Link."

Suddenly, Zelda walked away from Ruto. She began to walk over to Link. Link was staring out the giant windows watching the stars. While Zelda made her way over to Link, the orchestra started to play Blue Danube, her favorite waltz. She felt this was a good time to ask Link to dance. Nervously, she walked over to Link, who had his back to her. At first hesitant, she reached out her hand and tapped his shoulder. Link turned around and grinned when he made eye contact with the beautiful princess that he was expecting to see at the ball.

"May I?" Zelda asked holding out her hand.

Without saying a word, Link joined his hand with Zelda's, and they walked out to the dance floor. They got into waltz position and began to dance to music the orchestra played. Zelda was quite surprised and how good of a dancer he was. Throughout the whole time of the dance, Link held Zelda's gaze. She found herself lost in the deep blue eyes of his as they swayed back and forth on the dance floor. A few times, he led her in a twist or twirl. Zelda had never danced with a guy, so this was definitely new to her. She felt butterflies in her stomach the whole time. There were times where she thought she would collapse and she could've sworn her heart went into her throat.

After the music ceased, Link and Zelda stopped dancing. Under the moonlight's glow, the two stood in the middle holding each other's stare. Within seconds, an unwanted intruder interrupted their moment.

"Mind if I cut in?" Zelda looked beside her and Link and saw Ganondorf.

"Be my guest." Link answered. He turned back to Zelda. "Thank you for the dance, Zelda."

"I believe that's _Princess _Zelda to you." Ganondorf cleared his throat.

"No Ganondorf…" Zelda started to say.

"That won't be necessary…Princess." Link interrupted her. "I hope you enjoyed the dance and hope you enjoy your evening."

"Thank you, Link."

"Hmm, so you know each other?" Ganondorf guessed.

"As a matter of fact, we do." Zelda stated. "We're very good friends."

"Fascinating. Come Zelda, your father would like to make the announcement at this moment."

Ganondorf and Zelda linked arms and moved over to the platform where the thrones remained. Link moved closer to the platform and stood next to Talon, who was enjoying a glass of wine. The king, who saw his daughter and her fiancée approach him, got up from the throne and started tapping a wine glass. Unfortunately, because of how large the room was, it didn't echo that well, so instead, he got everyone's attention by calling out. It wasn't good for his voice, but there was no other way.

"May I have your attention, please." The king requested. Everyone in the ballroom turned their attention to the front. "I know, it's not mine or Zelda's birthday, and it's definitely not Christmas, but I have to say that tonight truly is a celebration. This evening, my daugher, Princess Zelda of Hyrule, and Lord Ganondorf from the west stand before you together. Why, you may ask? Well, I'm proud to announce that Lord Ganondorf and Princess Zelda shall be joined in holy matrimony in two weeks from tonight. Let their engagement be a blessing of Hyrule." King Harkinian concluded his brief announcement. "Tonight, we celebrate their engagement!"

The crowd erupted in applause after the king finished his announcement. Zelda couldn't help but stare at everybody in shock. She was actually engaged now. Ganondorf and Zelda linked arms once again and stopped off the platform and made their way through the crowd, who were constantly congratulating them and saying how happy they were that the princess of Hyrule was finally going to be married in a matter of a couple weeks. Link, who never understood marriage because he never grew up with married parents, was curious as to what all the commotion was.

"Talon, what does it mean when Ganondorf and Zelda are engaged?" Link asked.

"It means that they are to be married. And when they're married, she will belong to him till death do they part." Talon answered.

"Oh." Link, bummed that Zelda was marrying what he thought was a complete jerk, watched Zelda as she talked with a bunch of young girls about the wedding.

Link excused himself and walked outside the ballroom and onto the balcony that was outside. Zelda, who was listening to a bunch of girls talk about how nice the wedding was going to be, saw Link and he exited the ballroom. She excused herself and decided to follow him outside. At the door, she found him leaning on the ledge staring out into the starlit horizon. Zelda walked up and joined up with him.

"Hey, whatcha doing out here all by yourself?" Zelda asked.

"Just…needed a little fresh air." He replied.

"I know what you mean. It gets stuffy in there." She agreed. Link was silent. She couldn't help but wonder why he was so quiet. "You're quiet."

"Nah, I've always been the quiet type."

"Sorry we didn't really get to talk inside." Zelda apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure your fiancée doesn't like the idea of you talking to me right now." Link chuckled.

"Well, what if I don't care about what my fiancée thinks?" Zelda asked. Link looked at her weirdly. "There's no crime in talking with a friend."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He looked at Zelda and smiled. "So, talk to me."

"What?"

"You wanted to talk didn't you?"

"Right!" Zelda laughed. "Well… I was wondering…" She started. Link put a strand of hair behind her ear and she stopped wondering what he was doing.

"Sorry, there was a strand of hair. Go ahead." Link apologized.

"Anyway, I was going to say that you were really great in that archery tournament. You scared the living daylights out of that obnoxious archer."

"Well, that's what he gets for not knowing how to treat a lady properly."

"How did you know about that?" Zelda asked curiously.

"I saw the whole thing while I was in the crowd. When I saw it, I felt that the jerk needed to be taught a lesson, so I entered the competition at the last minute."

"Wow, really?"

"Nothing turns me off more than men treating women like bugs." Link said pounding his fist down. "Sorry."

"No, I think it's really sweet the way you talk about girls." Zelda complimented him. Link blushed and returned her smile. "Link, I'd like to give you a kiss."

"Huh?" Link asked shocked. "What about your fiancée?"

"He'll understand. Besides, you never got your reward from winning the competition."

"Well, I don't believe in competing for a kiss from the princess, but if you insist, then I can't refuse." Link sighed.

Zelda moved closer to Link and started to lean towards him. First, Link just stood there waiting for the princess, but he got the sudden urge to lean in as well. So, he started to lean in towards Zelda. Just as their lips were about to make eye contact, their ears were met with a not so pleasant shout.

"Zelda!"

Link and Zelda looked to the doors and saw Zelda's fiancée Ganondorf! Great, of all times for Ganondorf to find Zelda. Now? Really?

"Ganondorf!" Zelda said shocked. "W-We were just talking."

"Looked more like kissing to me." Ganondorf said in a low gruff voice.

"There's no reason to be jealous, we're just friends."

"Jealous of a peasant boy, don't make me laugh." Ganondorf scoffed. Link glared at him at the sound of the word _peasant_.

"He's not a peasant." Zelda defended Link.

"Hmph, let's go. There are plenty of other people wanting to see you."

"I have to go, Link." Zelda said sadly. "Bye."

Zelda reluctantly followed Ganondorf back into the ballroom. Link watched as the princess he was about to kiss walk back into the ballroom with the man she was going to marry in two weeks. He sighed knowing that as long as Ganondorf remained around, he had no chance with Zelda.

"Ganondorf's right." Link said to himself. "She's a princess and I'm…a peasant."

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**Author's Note: Wow, Zelda got caught in the act! Review if you wanna know what happens next! By th way, you really should listen to the Blue Danube waltz while reading the part of the chapter where Link and Zelda are dancing! It really pulls you in! And now *drum roll* it's trivia time!**

**Trivia: The scene near the end of the chapter where Zelda compliments Link about the way he talks about girls was based on a scene from the J.M. Barrie's play, Peter Pan. The difference is that Link actually knows what a kiss is. The interesting thing is that Link is similar to Peter Pan in terms of apparel and having a fairy companion.**


	4. Confrontation

**Author's Note: Thank you all for reviewing! Reading your reviews is a great time for me! Sorry it took some time for this chapter. I had finals this week and plus a Super Smash Bros tournament! Now, here's chapter 4!**

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Chapter 4: Confrontation

The ball ended at midnight. Zelda thanked every last one of the guests for attending as they passed through the doors going back out towards the town market. The princess was glad that everyone had a fabulous time. Even she had overall a good time at the ball, even with a bad ending to it. After everyone left, Zelda made her way up the stairs to her room. She changed into her nightgown and stared at her diamond ring that Ganondorf gave her at the ball that evening for their engagement. Only two weeks left and then, Zelda would officially be Ganondorf's for life.

Zelda went out on her balcony and sat on the ledge. While she couldn't stop thinking about the fact that hers and Ganondorf's wedding wasn't far off, she also couldn't stop thinking about how badly he treated Link. She said so herself, they were just friends, weren't they? Zelda also thought about the fact that she almost kissed him. It was just as Impa said earlier. Girls tend to get too attached when they are around a charming young man and Impa proved to be right. Zelda was starting to become really attached to Link.

Whenever she was around Link, Zelda always felt safe around him. She felt like she could trust him with her life if it were ever in danger. The most important thing, though, was that Link respected her. When she tried to kiss him that evening, he respected the fact that she was going to be married. Zelda felt admired by that. She tapped her engagement ring and then started to take it off. It was official, she couldn't marry Ganondorf. As charming and sweet as he seemed, Zelda felt that she also couldn't marry Link. She knew that she wanted to marry a guy like Link, but she didn't know him. Zelda sighed and collapsed onto her bed. Why was marriage so complicated?

"Zelda?" Impa called from outside the door.

"Yes, Impa?"

"Your father would like to see you downstairs in the dining hall."

"Okay."

Zelda put on a robe and walked down the stairs to the dining hall. The fireplace was on, so it was nice and cozy. There, in front of the fireplace, stood her father. His back was to her. He was also silent. Zelda knew that when her father was silent, that wasn't good. It meant something was wrong. She took a seat at the end of the long table and waited for her father to say something. The king remained silent.

"Dad?" Zelda asked. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes." The king said without emotion. "I wanted to talk to you about tonight."

"What about tonight?"

"Ganondorf mentioned to me that he wasn't impressed with you behavior tonight." King Harkinian said firmly.

"Is he talking about me spending time with Link tonight?" Zelda asked annoyed.

"As a matter of fact, he is. You seem familiar with this."

"Dad, nothing happened between us."

"Zelda, I saw you dance with that boy at the ball and I saw you go outside with him, so don't try and tell me nothing happened." The king was angry now.

"But I'm serious! Nothing happened! We're just friends!"

"How do you explain the kiss?"

"What?" Zelda asked in shock. "We didn't kiss! If Ganondorf told you that, he's lying! Besides, even if I did give Link a kiss, it was appropriate since he still didn't get the kiss after winning the archery competition yesterday!"

"Zelda…" The king began. "You have a good heart, and I admire you for that, but you cannot just go off doing things like that when you engaged to be married! Don't you get it? You're getting married in two weeks! Now, it's perfectly normal to have these….sexual desires at this age, but just wait two weeks and soon enough, you'll have a husband and can have your satisfaction."

"Dad!" Zelda was really angry now. "You think this is about sex? This has nothing to do with that! Ganondorf keeps getting jealous because I make a new friend who happens to be a guy! He automatically assumes just because I have a boy as a friend that I'm going to be romantically involved with him!"

"Daughter, it's very common for girls make friends with a boy and then get romantically involved with them. Now, I'm sure if you just go calmly talk to Ganondorf about it, he'll understand." King Harkinian suggested.

Zelda paused after her father said that. She was so sick of all the stress going on because of her engagement to Ganondorf. She hated it! Zelda hated the idea of getting married! She wanted to go back to her days as a child back when she didn't have to worry about marriage, or honor, or any of the complications of life that adults go through. Mainly, she was sick of her father believing her no good fiancée rather than his own daughter.

"Maybe I don't _want _to talk to him, Dad." Zelda stated.

"What?"

"Maybe I don't want to talk to Ganondorf, Dad! Maybe I don't want to have to get Ganondorf's approval on everything I do! Maybe I don't even want to marry Ganondorf, Dad!" Zelda yelled. She gasped when she made the last comment.

"You…are refusing Ganondorf's proposal?" King Harkinian asked in shock.

"I am." Zelda softly said.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Zelda."

"Dad…" She was on the verge of tears. "Dad, I can't marry him."

"We already decided I was going to choose your husband, and I have chosen your husband." Zelda started to cry as her father said this.

"Dad! You don't understand! I don't love him!"

"You're 17 years old! You don't know what love is!"

"Neither do you!" Zelda cried out. "Dad, Ganondorf is a control freak! He never lets me do anything I want! I don't want to marry him! I want to marry a man like Link!"

"A _peasant?_ You'd marry a _peasant?_" The king asked enraged.

"He is not a peasant! He is a kind young man and respectful! I don't necessarily want to marry Link, but I want to marry a man just like him!"

"Zelda! You are not to leave this castle ever again until you are married in two weeks, even if Impa offers to escort you, you are to remain here!" King Harkinian shouted. "You are to marry Ganondorf, is that clear?"

With her eyes flooded with tears, Zelda tore out of the dining hall. She ran into the main hall and started crying. She leaned against a wall and brought her legs up to her chest. Everything in life was just getting worse for her. First her father betroths her to a man she doesn't know, then he takes control of her life, and now she's a prisoner in her own castle. For Zelda, it looked like that young man she dreamed about wasn't coming to save her after all. She took the engagement ring that she took off her finger and chucked it across the hall.

From another room, some loud footsteps stepped toward the crying princess. The figure picked up the ring off the ground and walked over to Zelda. He placed a hand on her shoulder, but this time, less gentle and a little rougher. Zelda knew who it was, but she tried to ignore him. She continued to sob until the figure who was standing next to her finally spoke up.

"Such a nice way to treat your engagement ring."

"I'm not talking to you, Ganondorf." Zelda said gritting her teeth.

"Oh, poor Zelda. It's a shame, but you and I both know that that boy was never meant to be in any of our lives." Ganondorf said in a fake tone.

"You're such a child."

"A child at heart? You could say that."

"No." Zelda felt like smacking him.

"Hmm, I might be able to clear things up with your father." Ganondorf mentioned.

"How?" Zelda asked suspiciously.

"Your father obviously listens to everything I say."

"Great. What's the catch?"

"All you have to do is prove that you love me."

"What?" Zelda asked curiously.

Ganondorf turned the princess around and had her looking up at him. His hand, which was on one of her shoulders started to slide down her back. His other hand stoked her cheek and hair. The hand that was sliding down her back when down past her waist all the way down to her butt where he began to stroke it.

"It's simple, Zelda." Ganondorf whispered. "Just make love to me, and everything will be much better between you and your father."

"Never!" Zelda shoved Ganondorf away. Ganondorf just grabbed Zelda and forcefully kissed her. She shoved him away and smacked him across the face as hard as she could. Ganondorf, enraged, roughly grabbed Zelda by the arms and held her close.

"I _will_ have you for my wife! Make no mistake about that!"

"No! I will never marry you! Not so long as I'm alive and still breathing, I will _never _marry you!" Zelda yelled.

"You wretched girl! You ungrateful brat!" Ganondorf gritted his teeth. "I should've known it had something to do with that _peasant _boy!"

"He is not a peasant!" Zelda kicked Ganondorf in the leg forcing him to drop his grip on her. She tried to get away, but he caught up to her too quickly and grabbed her again.

"If you don't marry me, you'll regret it!"

"Bite me!"

Out of anger, Ganondorf shoved Zelda down to the ground and stormed off to the dining hall. Zelda, scared, ran upstairs back to where her room was. Impa was in her room waiting for the princess to return. Zelda saw her attendant and started crying. She was really scared. Of her 17 years, Zelda had never gotten into a fight with her father like this one. Was marriage really worth all the trouble to him? Did he seriously want to see his only daughter marry someone she hated? Then again, Zelda had to admit that her father had a point about her not knowing anything about love. She had never loved anyone who wasn't a family member. Zelda, at this point, was just unsure about everything.

Zelda also remembered those evil eyes Ganondorf had when he threw her onto the ground. She freaked out remembering how he stormed out over to the same room that her father was in. Impa did all that she could, which was comfort the frightened and saddened princess. Although Zelda never had a mother, she enjoyed looking up to Impa like a mother in these times of need.

"What will you do?" Impa asked.

"I don't know." Zelda replied wiping her tears. "Ganondorf and my father are not going to leave me alone and I've officially been grounded until my wedding day."

"Sounds like it was rough."

"Yeah. Dammit! I can't stand it here! I'm so sick of not being able to make my own choices! My life has been nothing but a schedule and decisions made by my father! I'm not a child! I can make my own decisions! I mean, there are plenty of women who are my age, who are marrying the man they love, living life the way _they _want to!" Zelda cried.

"I know. I know. It's hard. This is a hard time for you." Impa comforted Zelda. The princess paused for a few moments and then looked at Impa with the most pleading look that she ever had.

"Impa, I need you to do me the most important favor you've ever had to do."

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**Author's Note: I know! The scene between Ganondorf and Zelda was gross! I was completely grossed out just writing it! But, I felt that it was necessary to make the story more dramatic. Sorry this chapter was short, but the next one will most likely be longer! I'm off for Christmas break for a month now, so I have plenty of time for writing and updating! And now, it's time for chapter four's trivia fact!**

**Trivia: The fight scene between Zelda and King Harkinian was based off of a scene from Romeo and Juliet when Juliet gets into a fight with her father about refusing to marry Paris.**


	5. Run Away

**Author's Note: Chapter Five is here! Awesomeness! I've never enjoyed writing a fanfic so much in a long time! Enjoy the next chapter!**

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Chapter 5: Run Away

Zelda dimmed the candles at her night stand for the evening. She was prepared for the consequences of what she was about to do. It was going to be risky, but she couldn't go through with the marriage to Ganondorf. Zelda placed her hand over her Triforce necklace and looked outside the window. Being the princess of Hyrule, she had been trapped in Hyrule Castle with rare trips to Kakariko Village, but tonight, she was about the enter the big bad world and it wasn't going to be with anyone else, it was going to be by herself.

The time was 3:00. It had been three hours since Zelda had her fight with her father and Ganondorf. She assumed that they'd be asleep by now. Even if they were, there were still nighttime guards all throughout the castle and castle grounds. Zelda knew that no matter what route she was taking, it wasn't going to be an easy one. She just hoped one thing, she never had to come back to the castle ever again. Zelda just wanted a regular life like all of the regular girls in Hyrule. She wanted to be able to wear whatever she wanted, go other places, marry the one she loved, and basically have freedom.

All dressed up in her combat outfit, Zelda equipped herself with her sword, a red potion, and her bow with arrows. She was a princess, but that didn't mean she couldn't fight. It made her mad whenever someone assumed that she couldn't fight just because she was the princess. Zelda took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror. Impa came into Zelda's room. Of all people, Impa was the only one who knew about Zelda's plan and has sworn to secrecy about it too.

"You ready?" Impa asked nervously.

"Yep." Zelda answered putting on her cloak.

"Zelda, there must be a better solution to this."

"Nope. Nobody will believe me. Either this is done, or I'm going to be miserable for the rest of my life."

"Have you figured out how to get out of the castle? There are a lot of guards."

"Simple." Zelda answered. She looked down the balcony and there were some thick vines crawling up. "I'll just climb down."

"Zelda, this balcony is way high up. It's too dangerous." Impa said firmly.

"Impa, this whole plan is dangerous, but I'm willing to risk it."

"Maybe I should go with you."

"No, if they find you, they'll find me in a heartbeat. We have to separate." Zelda said only to realize it saddened her. "It's the only way."

"Just be careful. Remember everything I taught you." Impa said hugging Zelda. The princess hugged her back. "You're strong, and wise. Try to keep your profile low. Your father will most likely send out soldiers to find you when he realizes you're gone."

"I doubt it. He was very angry with me tonight."

"Zelda, he may be angry with you, but he still loves you very much."

Zelda stared down the balcony for a moment before hopping over the ledge and grabbing onto the vines. It freaked the princess out a little, but she knew she'd be fine. Impa waved at the princess once more before she began to make her descent down towards the castle courtyard. Zelda knew these combat boots that Impa gave her for her birthday one year would come in handy. As she climbed down the vines, Zelda's foot accidentally slipped causing her to hang for her dear life by one vine. She started to panic, but was able to grab onto one more vine.

The princess safely made it down to the ground. She held the hood on her cloak down low enough to make sure nobody could recognize her. First priority was to get Daisuke. There was no way she could get away from the castle fast enough unless she took him with her. She stroked her horse on the side of the neck. She remembered that she had a wallet filled with thousands of rupees. As much as she wanted to keep the rupees, Zelda chucked the wallet to the other side of the stable. If she was going to live an normal life, that mean getting rid of the thousands of rupees she always had.

Daisuke's reigns were held by Zelda as the two walked their way through the pounding rain to the gateway to Hyrule Field. Zelda took one last look at Hyrule Castle and opened the gate before mounting on top of Daisuke. She got the horse dashing at a fast canter. She didn't know where she was going nor did she know where she wanted to go. She couldn't go to Kakariko, that was too close to the castle. Death Mountain was way too dangerous to climb in stormy weather. The Zoras over at Zora's Domain were really tight with the Royal Family, so that wasn't an option either. Kokiri Forest was a good option for Zelda. She wouldn't be able to stay long because of how grown up she was compared to the forest children, but it would do for a temporary stay.

Zelda had Daisuke dashing over in the direction of Kokiri Forest. Along the way, there happened to be poes floating about trying to spook Daisuke. Zelda forgot that the poes came out at night and haunted Hyrule Field! The princess took out her bow as Daisuke continued forward and she shot the poes making them disappear. Good thing she had the bow and learned how to shoot really well. After the poes disappeared, Zelda and Daisuke arrived at the tunnel that goes to Kokiri Forest. She tried to lead Daisuke into the forest, but he refused to go through. Zelda decided to leave him for now and worry about him later in the morning.

The forest was peaceful. The Kokiri were all asleep and so was their guardian, the Great Deku Tree. Normally, if this were during the day, Zelda would go ask the Great Deku Tree for advice, but she didn't want to disturb him. He was old, after all. Instead, Zelda looked for a place she could possibly stay at. She peeked into the houses and saw little children sleeping in beds. All of the houses were occupied, and she didn't want to wake up the Kokiri just ask them to stay in their house for then night. Surely, there must be someplace she could stay. It was cold and still raining. As Zelda shivered underneath her wet cloak, she looked to her side and saw the entry to the Lost Woods. Surely there must be a house or something in there.

Zelda walked into the Lost Woods and saw there were three other ways she could go. She took the one right in front of her and ended up right back at Kokiri Forest. The princess groaned knowing she was going to take all night just trying to navigate the woods. She went back in and took a right. Good, making some progress. Then, she took a right and ended up back at Kokiri Forest. Back to the Lost Woods, Zelda took a right and then a left. She saw what seemed like a shortcut to something in front of her. She went in and suddenly ended up at Goron City. Zelda couldn't stay with the Gorons either, their leader was tight with the Royal Family. She went back out to the Lost Woods and took a left from where she was. There, she saw a little thing of water. It looked like another shortcut. Zelda dove into the water, being wet enough from the rain already, and dove deep to see what it was. It was a shortcut. Zelda came back up for breath and then dove down once more so she could enter the shortcut. Through the shortcut, she entered Zora's River and right in front of the entrance to Zora's Domain. As she turned back to go back to the Lost Woods, Zelda lost her footing and fell into the river.

The river's currents were strong because of the storm. Zelda tried to fight it, but it was too strong for her. One of the first rules she was taught was never try to fight a current and now, she knew why. She was starting to get tired. Zelda then got an idea. She swam with the current expecting to end up back at Hyrule Field. Then, she would just walk back to Kokiri Forest. Her plan sounded good, but ended in a completely different way. Somehow, the current split off into two directions and she ended up swimming into a large cavern. Finally, she was able to come out of the water for air. Zelda didn't know what the make of this cavern, she had never even heard of it.

"Great, now where am I?" Zelda asked herself annoyed at her own stupidity.

Zelda walked through the cavern cold, tired, and hungry. The cavern was enclosed all the way around. Zelda honestly thought she was going to be trapped in their forever. She thought that she was going to die in there. Zelda sat in the cavern shivering. Then she knew that sitting wouldn't help, so she searched off trying to find flint and wood to make a fire. She found some pieces of wood from some old boxes and then placed them in a pile in front of her. Now, to find some flint. Zelda wished at this point that she had fire arrows, but alas, she only had the regular ones. She searched around and luckily found some flint. Using the flint, she lit up the wood and made a fire. It wasn't that much, but it at least kept her warmer than she was minutes ago. Zelda brought her legs up to her chest and she leaned on them. She was scared, lonely, tired, and just wanted to go home at this point. All she wanted was to find a place to stay for the night and that was apparently too much for her to ask. Zelda started to snooze.

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"_Zelda!"_

_A voice echoed from far away. Zelda was looking around the Hyrule Castle Town Market and saw that everything was on fire. The sky was crowded with dark clouds billowing over Hyrule. People were screaming and crying. Soldiers were getting killed by these warriors. Zelda watched everything in horror. She ran through the market and all the way back to Hyrule Castle. As she ran, she kept hearing her name echo over and over again. It sounded like her father was calling for her._

"_Dad!" Zelda cried out as she entered the throne room. King Harkinian was weak and had plenty of injuries. "You're hurt!"_

"_It's…"_

"_Who did this?"_

"_Ganondorf!"_

"_What?"_

"_I'm sorry I didn't believe you, Zelda." The king breathed weakly. _

"_We have to get you to a doctor right away!" Zelda said teary-eyed._

"_So nice of you to come back, Zelda." The princess turned around and saw Ganondorf standing there, a few feet away from her._

"_You!" She drew her sword. "What'd you do to my father?"_

"_It's a shame what can happen when you have a selfish mind." Ganondorf said evilly._

"_All of this because I refused to marry you?"_

"_I told you I would have you for my wife and to make no mistake about that." Zelda did remember him saying that before running away from the castle._

"_You would go this far?" She asked enraged._

"_Sad tale, isn't it?" Ganondorf chuckled. "I should also apologize about your little friend who's fighting Volvagia right now. I mean, after all, Volvagia only eats Gorons and Hylians."_

"_No…" Zelda said to herself not believing what he said. "Link! You killed Link!"_

_"Now playing the blame game isn't the way to go, now is it?"_

_"You...you bastard!"_

_Zelda lunged at Ganondorf with her sword. Ganondorf defended her with his own sword. She was a strong fighter and threw off Ganondorf, but that didn't stop him from having excellent swordsman skills. In fact, Zelda forgot about the fact that he was an excellent swordsman. With her sword clenched in both hands, Zelda swung as hard as she could with each strike. Ganondorf would either defend with his own sword or smoothly dodge it. Zelda cursed at herself. Link was a much better fighter than she was. She would never forgive Ganondorf for what he did to Link._

_Just like she was taught, revenge never was a good thing. And here, it proved to be true. Ganondorf stabbed Zelda in the stomach. Zelda paused in shock and saw that his sword had gone through her abdomen. She started panting hard and fell to the ground. As she lay down on the ground, Ganondorf laughed maniacally until he turned around and saw a figure in a green tunic lunging at him with a sword and shield on hand. Zelda smiled when she realized who it was. _

_It was Link._

_Link was a much more skilled fighter than Zelda was. He had more techniques mastered such as a spin attack. Link fought Ganondorf and Ganondorf struggled more with his fight against Link, but that wasn't going to stop him. The two swordsmen clashed their swords a few times and Link was even able to get a few slashes on Ganondorf. It wasn't enough. Link finally got the opportune moment and stabbed Ganondorf in the abdomen. The dark lord cried out in pain and fell to the ground. He collapsed face down and Link simply walked away from him._

_Now turning his attention to Zelda, who was panting on the ground, Link rushed over to her side. Link held her up so he could see her eyes. Her vision was getting blurry, but she could tells it was him. Zelda was too worn out to say anything. She gave him a weak smile and caressed his cheek with her hand weakly. Link shook his head knowing what was going to happen. Zelda's expression changed when she saw Ganondorf lift up his torso and use his last breath to throw a dagger into the back of Link. _

_Link cried out in pain. Ganondorf let out one last evil chuckle before dying on the ground. Zelda's eyes tears up as she saw Link slowly collapse to the ground next to Zelda. She kept her gaze on him as he also gasped for breath. He made eye contact with her and smiled. Then, he held out her hand and she placed her hand in his. _

"_Link…" Zelda said softly._

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"Link!" Zelda cried out as she awoke from her sleep. She breathed heavily knowing thinking that was just happened was real. It took her a minute to realize that it was a nightmare, but she was one whose dreams tended to be psychic readings. "No! Dad! Ganondorf!"

Zelda didn't want to marry Ganondorf. She already established that. What she didn't want more was to have Ganondorf attack Hyrule Castle just because she didn't marry him. Panicky, Zelda ran around the cavern trying to find an exit. She didn't care that she was probably very sick because of sleeping in a cold cavern soaking wet. Zelda felt around until she found some soft part of the wall. It seemed suspicious, so she tried to remember was Impa said about soft walls. She remembered something about using the Goron's "special crop". Bomb Flowers!

Hidden underneath a bunch of rocks, Zelda found a single bomb flower. It was the only one and it won't grow back for a while after it was picked. She planned it out carefully how she was going to use the bomb flower. Finally, she picked up the special crop of the Gorons, and threw it as hard as she could to the wall. The bomb exploded just as it reached the wall. It made a crack in the wall, which made an exit for Zelda. She made her way through the exit and found herself in…

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**Author's Note: Cliffhanger! Where did Zelda end up? Find out in the next chapter! I'm really appreciating the reviews you guys are giving! And now, it's time for trivia!**

**Trivia: The dream sequence was an actual dream that I had after I beat Ocarina of Time for the first time. I remember it perfectly because I cried after waking up from it (C'mon I was like 7 years old!).**


	6. In The Windmill

**Author's Note: Ha! Don't you just love those evil cliffies! Thanks to all who reviewed and hope you're having a great holiday! I would've updated sooner, but alas, I just got a Nintendo Wii for Christmas(finally!) along with Super Smash Bros Brawl and I'm HOOKED! Anyway, enjoy the next chappie!**

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Chapter 6: In the Windmill

Outside of the cold, wet cavern, Zelda saw a particular graveyard that she was very familiar with. It was the graveyard in Kakariko Village! The one place she didn't want to end up in, she ends up in. Zelda groaned out of frustration about no matter what she was going, things just kept getting worse for her. It was about 9:00 by now, so Zelda got maybe a good four hours of sleep while in the cavern. She was tired, filthy, hungry, and she felt sick as a dog having slept in the freezing cold temperatures while drenched from nearly drowning in Zora's River. Zelda just wanted to find someone's house to stay in at least for one day so she could try to get better.

Zelda walked around the graveyard and figured that she should visit the grave of her mother. She found the tall tombstone that had many flowers scattered around it and kneeled in front of it. Although she never knew her mother, Zelda wished she could've. As good of a mother figure as Impa was to Zelda, it would've been nice for the princess to have an actual mother to be around. Zelda shed a few tears and then bowed before getting up and dusting off her filthy combat clothes.

Kakariko seemed more active than usual to Zelda when she entered the village. There was a large crowd surrounded in the middle of the village. She stuck far back behind the crowd so she could try and listen in on what was going on. Her heart just about stopped when she saw who was in the middle of the crowd. Three castle soldiers on horses stood firmly addressing the crowd. Zelda was positive that the soldiers were there to inform the villagers that she was missing and that they needed to keep all eyes out for her.

"Citizens of Hyrule and villagers of Kakariko, the king has sent us out with an important message." The leading soldier announced. "Princess Zelda has gone missing." The announcement was joined by a gasp from the crowd. "King Harkinian has ordered for each citizen to keep a watch out for the princess. Anyone who finds the princess is to return her to Hyrule Castle immediately. The person who finds the princess will we rewarded with 1,000 rupees."

"No…" Zelda said to herself. Thanks to the castle soldiers, anyone who spots her will attempt to kidnap her and turn her in for rupees.

"Princess?" A soft voice asked. Zelda felt her heart stop. She turned around and saw that it was Link!

"Link? What're you doing here?" She asked nervously.

"Delivering Lon Lon Milk." He answered. "What're you doing here? I thought you couldn't leave the castle."

"I know." Zelda whispered. "I'm trying to figure out a way to get out of here before I…"

"Hey! There she is!" One of the soldiers called out. The crowd looked behind him and saw the princess.

"Great, I'm screwed." She said to herself.

"Not necessarily." Link said.

"What?"

"Just one question."

"Yeah?" Zelda asked. Link locked his hand with hers. She blushed.

"Are you a fast runner?"

"Sort of."

"Then, let's go."

In a flash, Link started sprinting dragging Zelda along with him. The soldiers saw that Link was taking the princess away from them. They got off their horses and started running after them. The soldiers wished that Kakariko was large enough for them to use their horses at this point. Zelda ran as fast as her feet could trying to prevent Link from having to literally drag her. The soldiers were catching up to them. Link led Zelda around a corner and they hid in a small hole in a wall covered up by bushes. It was very small and they were very cramped up together.

"Nice hiding place." Zelda said sarcastically.

"Do you wanna get caught?" Link asked. She shook her head. "Then you're gonna have to trust me on this."

"Fine, but we can't stay in here all day, we'll suffocate."

"I know, just wait a sec."

Link tried to squeeze past Zelda and peek outside to see if any of the soldiers were near them. The soldiers had passed the whole in the wall and were heading in a different direction than they were. Link squeezed himself out of the hole and then helped Zelda get out of the hole as well. As she was coming out, she hit her head and yelped in pain. Link tried to hush her, but one of the soldiers that was trailing behind the others caught them. The soldier rushed to Link and Zelda, but Link drew his sword and knocked the soldier on the helmet causing him to fall unconscious.

The other soldiers heard the now unconscious soldier call out that he found Link and Zelda. They began running over to them and Link just led Zelda up a ladder. Today just wasn't a good day for Zelda. First she falls into Zora's River when she meant to return to the Lost Woods, then she nearly dies from sleeping in a cavern, and now, she is being chased by her own castle soldiers. Once Link and Zelda made it all the way up the ladder, the castle soldiers started climbing up one by one. Zelda decided to kick some dirt into the face of one of the soldiers and then followed Link over to where he was, which was at a hidden door that led to the inside of the windmill.

As Link and Zelda hid in the windmill, the soldiers rushed on past them wondering where they could've gone. Link started going up a ladder and signaled Zelda to follow him. She climbed up the ladder behind him and Link helped her up once he got to the top. They took a moment to catch their breaths considering they could use a break after having to run from all of those castle soldiers. Zelda decided to sit down especially because she was not feeling good at all. She started coughing. Link, concerned about whether she was okay or not, sat down beside her.

"You sound horrible. Do you have asthma?" Link asked.

"No. I just feel really sick." She answered. Her voice sounded hoarse.

"You sounded great the night before."

"I know. I slept in a freezing cold cavern earlier and was drenched."

"What were you doing that for? Why didn't you just stay at the castle?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Zelda turned away from Link.

Her cloak had dried, but it was cold from staying in the cavern. Link, who was curious about why she even left the castle in the first place, scooted closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. He noticed she was shaking, not from shivering, but she was crying softly. If there was one thing Link hated, it was seeing a woman cry. Assuming he was the cause of her crying, Link backed off and went to the other side of the windmill. He looked back behind him and found an old blanket that he used whenever he came up here during the times when it was cold. Link placed the blanket around Zelda.

"There, that better?" Link asked trying to sound optimistic.

"A little." She answered wiping her tears.

"You sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"I'm sure. It's just…too complicated." Zelda held onto the blanket tightly.

"Okay." Link looked outside the opening of the windmill. "Well, I'm assuming you don't want to get caught by the guards, so you might want to stay hidden here for a while."

"Yeah." There was an awkward silence between the two. Zelda broke the silence. "I didn't want to marry Ganondorf."

"Huh?"

"That's why I ran away." Zelda clarified. "I didn't want to marry Ganondorf."

"I can't really blame you then. That guy's a jerk." Link laughed. "Wait, so why did you get engaged to him in the first place?"

"My father chose him. He felt that because Ganondorf was older and stronger, he'd make an excellent husband. But…he just treats me horribly."

"That's not cool. Did you talk to your father?"

"Sort of." Zelda paused. "Ganondorf told me about our encounters last night, and it made my father angry. That led me to tell him that I didn't want to marry Ganondorf and that I wanted to marry someone that I love. He didn't like that and forbid me from leaving the castle until I was married."

"Ouch. I've been grounded before, but not like that." Link let his legs dangle from the edge of the windmill. "And that's why you left? Because you didn't want to feel trapped?"

"That, and also…something else." Link saw as Zelda's eyes started filling with tears. "After the fight I had with my father, Ganondorf said he'd fix things out if…"

"If what?"

"If I…proved that I loved him."

"Hmm." Link thought about it. "So, how were you supposed to do that."

"He said that we had to make love."

"Blech!" Link gagged. "With _him?_"

"After I refused," Zelda started crying. "He grabbed me and shoved me onto the ground like a bully would do to a small child. He hurt me, Link! He could've raped me!"

Zelda didn't want Link to see her cry. She covered her face with her hands and continued to cry. Link had never been put into this situation, so he didn't know exactly what to do, but he had a good idea. He scooted closer to her and put his arm around her. She looked up at Link with teary eyes. He then slowly brought her into a hug and she started to cry on his shoulder. Link never knew that someone who lived in royalty could have such a rough life. Zelda rested her head on his shoulder and Link rested his head on Zelda's. She enjoyed the comfort that her good friend was giving her. As she ceased her crying, Zelda felt something up in her nostrils. She shot up breaking the hug and sneezed.

"Bless you." Link couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" Zelda asked.

"Nothing. It's just that…your sneeze is cute."

"Oh. Thanks." She blushed.

"You feeling better?" Link asked.

"Yeah." Zelda looked back and gazed into Link's eyes. "Thank you." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "That's the kiss that I owed you from last night."

"Right, thanks." Link blushed.

"Well, I guess you should probably get back to delivering the milk."

"Nah, the carriage is wide open. The villagers can grab their own. Talon will probably yell at me, but I can take it."

"What about Epona? Won't she get scared of strangers?"

"Not unless they decide to approach the carriage from the front." Link leaned back against the wall and faced Zelda. She then just remembered something!

"Daisuke! I forgot all about him!"

"What about him?"

"When I ran away, I went to Kokiri Forest and left him at the entry!" Zelda groaned. "Man! I hope he's still there!"

"Don't worry. Lon Lon Ranch rescues horses, so if Daisuke was found, then he'll be at the ranch." Link assured.

"That's good." Zelda then stared out and could see most of Kakariko Village. "This view is amazing."

"You like it? It's my secret place. You and I are the only ones who know about it."

"Really? It's great."

Zelda shut her eyes and let the wind below through her hair. Link couldn't help but stare at her. He felt something that he never felt before. It was a warm feeling in his stomach, the same feeling that he felt at the ball the night before. Link could also feel his heart beating a lot faster than what he was used to. Zelda took in a deep breath and let it out. She looked down and could see the castle soldiers riding away on their horses. Wanting to get out of Kakariko Village, Zelda hopped to her feet and folded up the blanket that Link gave to her.

"Where are you going?" Link asked.

"The castle soldiers are riding away! I can leave the village now!" Zelda shook out her hair and cloak.

"But you can't go traveling right now. Not while you're sick."

"Oh, it's just my throat and my chest." During the whole time she was up there, Zelda forgot that she was even sick.

"Yeah, but it can turn to pneumonia, which can kill you." Link said concerned.

"Thanks for the concern, but I'll be fine."

"But, where will you go? The whole kingdom will be searching for you."

Zelda, who was starting to climb down the ladder, stopped. Link had a good point. She was an official fugitive now and they were all after her. Everyone was especially going to be looking for her because of the highly generous reward of 1,000 rupees to the person who finds Zelda and turns her in. She sighed out of defeat and climbed back up and sat back down next to Link.

"Well, what am I supposed to do then?" Zelda asked. "I can't go back to Hyrule Castle. I can't marry Ganondorf."

"You can stay with us." Link offered.

"Really?"

"Yeah, definitely, and we'll be sworn to secrecy."

"Oh, thank you, Link!" Zelda hugged Link.

"No problem. I just have to finish delivering the milk and then we can ride over there together."

"Well, then we have no time to waste! Let's go!" Zelda started climbing down the ladder. She paused for a minute and looked up at Link. "You know Link, one day you're going to get a girlfriend, and she's going to be very lucky."

"Thanks, Zelda." Link thanked her while blushing.

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**Author's Note: Yay! Chapter six is done! Not much to say except for yeah, things are going to get really interesting starting now! But first…trivia time!**

**Trivia: The last line that Zelda says in the chapter is a line from a play that I worked on called **_**Up**_** (not like the cartoon) by Bridget Carpenter except for the guy's name is Mikey and not Link. **


	7. Lon Lon Ranch

**Author's Note: Guess what, guys? Not only is it New Years Day and the first day of 2011, but it's also the 5 year anniversary since I joined fanfiction! That's right! New Years Day in 2006, I joined fanfiction and wrote my first fanfic (which really SUCKS now that I look back at it!)! So, guess what? To celebrate both New Years and my personal 5 year fanfiction anniversary, you guys get a new chapter! Now, you guys enjoy this while I go work on the next chapter! (*cough* and *cough* Super Mario Galaxy *cough*) Oh yeah, and I finally ordered Twilight Princess via Amazon, so that'll be here soon, which'll put the fanfic on hold while I play for a few days. But no worries! I have this whole fanfic planned out and have a goal of never getting writer's block on this one!**

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Chapter 7: Lon Lon Ranch

Zelda awaited on the carriage while Link placed bottles of milk at the doors of the houses. She felt bad and tried to help him out, but he refused to let her help and insisted that she stays on the carriage. That was another downside to being a princess. There were times when Zelda felt like she wanted to help others with work because she knew how hard they were working and how little rupees they were being paid, but nobody would let her help because she was royalty. There are so many times when Zelda actually wanted to work so she would know how hard it was for these people of Hyrule to earn rupees to support themselves and their families.

As she waited on the carriage, the young man who owned the potion shop in the village, came up to Zelda and asked if it was her. There was no sense in pretending not to be the princess, so she was honest and nodded. He then handed her a potion and said that Impa spoke to the village earlier that morning about how Zelda really needed to get away from the castle. So, everyone in Kakariko Village have sworn to keep Zelda's presence a secret from everyone else. Zelda thanked the potion shop owner and accepted the red potion. She felt like she should take the red potion, but felt like it would be more important later on, so she saved it.

Just as promised, Link finished delivering his last bottle of milk and hopped onto the carriage next to Zelda. He smacked the reigns and got Epona moving. Zelda had ridden plenty of horses when she was younger until she finally got Daisuke as her own and to her, Epona seemed fast than the average horse. The ride over to Lon Lon Ranch was quiet. Sometimes, it almost felt awkward since neither Link nor Zelda were speaking to each other. Zelda finally broke the silence about half way over to the ranch.

"So, you live at Lon Lon Ranch?"

"Yeah. I live with the owner and his daughter Malon." Link answered.

"Oh. Is Malon cute?" Zelda asked teasingly thinking Link might have liked her.

"Yes, but we already decided we're just friends."

"Oh."

"So, where'd you get the red potion?" Link asked.

"The potion shop owner gave it to me. He said the village promises to keep me "hidden" as long as I'm missing from Hyrule Castle."

"That's good. That means you won't have to wear some disguise or anything."

"Yeah." Zelda agreed coughing. Her throat and chest were really starting to get to her at this point.

"Maybe you should take that red potion. It'll help you out." Link suggested.

"No. I just know I'm going to really need it later." Zelda said.

She looked over in the direction of Hyrule Castle. It still looked peaceful. Maybe she really didn't need to worry about her dream becoming reality. If Ganondorf was going to attack Hyrule Castle, he would've already done it. Wouldn't he? Zelda sneezed into her cloak and shivered afterwards.

"Don't worry, we're almost there." Link said.

"Right."

Soon afterwards, they arrived at Lon Lon Ranch. Zelda had heard about Lon Lon Ranch, but had never actually been there. Epona pulled the carriage up the hill and into the ranch. Just as they pulled in, Link started calling Talon and Malon. Both of them came outside from within their house. They looked shocked when they saw that Princess Zelda was with Link. After parking the carriage, Link hopped off and then helped Zelda off. As soon as she landed on the ground, she sneezed fiercely.

"I guess the hay here doesn't really help, huh?" Link laughed nervously.

"Not really." Zelda sniffled.

"Link?" Malon asked as she set Epona free from the carriage. "What's Zelda doing here? Shouldn't she be at the castle?"

"It's a long story, but she's sick right now, so I'll tell you inside."

"Okay. Malon, you and Link take the princess inside and I'll put the extra milk away." Talon said as he hopped onto the carriage.

Zelda didn't need help walking in even though her vision was getting blurry. She denied the fact that she was as sick as a dog and just said she was tired. However, after stepping into the house, she tripped over a shoe and nearly fell over. Luckily, Link caught her before she could land on her face. Malon grabbed some blankets while Link carried her bridal style over to the couch and set her down. Zelda coughed some more after she was set down.

Now that she was knowledgeable of how weak she truly was at this point, Zelda couldn't deny the fact that she was very sick. She thought she was going to die. While she lay on the couch, Link kneeled beside her thinking that she could die any minute now. Malon came back with blankets and lay them on top of the hacking princess. Link and Malon then went into the kitchen and started cooking. Malon's mother had a recipe that was specifically for those that were sick. Malon made the soup while Link went back into the living room and kept Zelda company.

"Don't worry." Link said in a soothing voice. "You'll be okay."

"L-Link?" Zelda looked up and gazed in his eyes. "You have…the most…gorgeous eyes. And your earrings…" Link, feeling awkward, tapped his earrings. "…I really like them. I should get my ears pierced."

"But…your ears are already pierced." Link pointed out.

"Well, I'll just have to get them pierced again. Maybe I'll get my nose pierced." Zelda said softly. Link's eyes widened when she said this.

"How is she?" Malon asked from within the kitchen.

"She's completely delirious and has lost her mind!" Link said with concern.

"How?"

"She said my eyes were gorgeous and she liked my earrings. She also said she wants to get her nose pierced."

"Okay. Just hang in tight! The soup's coming!" Malon said working as fast she could. "Just make sure she stays under those blankets."

"Link…" Zelda said softly.

"Yeah?" Link answered.

"We…oh, I don't know." Zelda giggled afterwards. Link backed away a bit. "I don't know. Hmm, I think…we should have a baby."

"W-What?"

"You know…maybe a little Link Jr. or a little princess Zelda Jr. or…"

"Malon! Hurry! I think she's getting worse!" Link panicked.

"What'd she say this time?" Malon asked carrying in the soup.

"She told me that she and I should have a baby together."

"Okay, good thing I've got this stuff ready." Malon and Link fluffed up some pillows and helped Zelda sit up. "Okay Zelda, I have some soup here for you. Now, go ahead and drink the whole thing, okay? This'll make you all better."

"No…I don't want soup…" Zelda groaned. "I want…mud. I want lots of mud!"

"You're not getting any mud. You're going to drink this soup." Malon said firmly. She took the spoon and filled with soup and tried to feed it to Zelda.

"No!" Just as Zelda whined, the soup went into her mouth and down her throat. "Fine, but just because I don't want you to feed me…"

Malon and Link breathed a sigh of relief and handed the bowl to Zelda. She downed the whole entire bowl of soup and then passed out. The side effects of the recipe they just fed Zelda was that it put you to sleep for a long time, but it was a powerful recipe that acted like a red potion. Malon swore never to give the recipe out. Link and Malon left the room and let Zelda sleep. Being the annoying sibling she was, Malon made Link help wash the dishes.

After sleeping for about nine hours, Zelda started to crack her eyes wide open. She saw Link sitting on a chair beside the couch taking a snooze. Once her eyes were wide open, Zelda sat up on the couch and got in a good stretch. She also let out a good, loud yawn that woke Link up from his nap. He saw that the sleeping beauty woke up from her slumber and welcomed her with a warm smile.

"Morning." Zelda said to Link groggily.

"Actually, it's early evening, but good to see you awake." Link said walking over to her. "How do you feel?"

"Groggy, but I feel better."

"You sound better. No coughing or sneezing."

"Yeah, but I still feel weak." Zelda said pushing the blankets off of her.

"Grogginess is a side effect of the soup we gave you. It was powerful enough to put you to sleep and get rid of your sickness. You got pretty bad when we got to the house."

"How bad was I?"

"Well…" Link started to say and blushed from embarrassment. "Let's just say it got to the point where you said you wanted us to have a baby."

"Really?" Zelda asked nervously. Link nodded. "Wow, how embarrassing!"

"Looked like the soup took care of that."

"Yeah." Zelda began to stand up to stretch, but immediately lost her balance and began to fall forward. Link caught her once again like he did when they first arrived at the house.

"Careful. I told you the side effects were grogginess." Link laughed.

"Darn it. I'm not gonna be able to walk for a long time." Zelda said sitting back down.

"Not necessarily, you'll be good by tomorrow morning." Link said moving a strand of hair behind Zelda's ear again. "Sorry. It was a strand of hair."

"It's alright. I probably should cut my hair a bit."

"Actually, I really like it."

"Thanks." Zelda found herself blushing. Malon and Talon came in from outside just as Link was about to sit down on the couch next to Zelda.

"Great! She's feeling all better!" Malon said as she hugged Zelda.

"Um… Zelda this is Talon, owner of Lon Lon Ranch, and his daughter, Malon. They're my family." Link introduced them both.

"It's an honor to have you here, Princess." Talon said bowing.

"I'd prefer it if you called me Zelda and didn't treat me like a princess." Zelda said out of embarrassment.

"So, according to Link, you ran away from the castle." Malon pointed out sitting on a chair. "What happened?"

As much as Zelda didn't want to talk about it, she felt like she could trust these people. All wrapped up in one of her blankets, Zelda told them about everything. She told them about the fight she had with her father, Ganondorf, and ending up in the cavern. Having to tell what happened and to just think about it saddened Zelda. This time though, she was able to hold back her tears. Zelda didn't want to break down and cry again. She already made herself look like a wimp enough when she and Link were hiding up in the windmill.

Link sat next to Zelda and put an arm around her knowing how sad she truly felt . Zelda just smiled back at him and leaned onto his shoulder. Talon and Malon were surprised that this was happening. Of all people, you would think that the princess of Hyrule would have such a wonderful life living with all the servants, riches, and the enormous palace. Link, Talon, and Malon looked at each other almost like they had the same idea in mind. The truth was they _did _have the same idea in mind. They nodded in agreement and Talon walked over to the tired princess who looked like she was drifting off to sleep again.

"Zelda, how would you like to stay with us indefinitely?" Talon offered. Zelda's head shot up when she heard this.

"Oh no! I couldn't. I'd be intruding."

"No you wouldn't." Link insisted.

"Yeah, there's plenty of room. My bedroom has two beds in it. We always have guests in our house if someone needs to stay for the night." Malon agreed.

"I just couldn't. It wouldn't be right. I don't even have any rupees to pay for rent." Zelda tried to resist their offer.

"Well, we don't charge rent." Talon mentioned.

"No offense, but aren't princesses supposed to be…rich?" Malon asked.

"Yeah, but…I got rid of all the rupees I had."

"How'd you do that?" Link asked in shock.

"I just took the wallet, which I carry all my rupees in, and just chucked it across the stable. It wasn't easy, but I wanted to live a different life. I'm sick of living the "little spoiled rich girl" life. All of my decisions are made by everyone else but me. I had no freedom. So, I did what I had to." Zelda said. She then realized that there was a weird scene in the house. "Is something burning?"

"Ah!" Link freaked. "My baked cucco!"

Malon and Link rushed into the kitchen and saw smoke coming from the oven. They each grabbed a bucket of water and splashed the oven to cease the brief fire that started. Link opened the oven and was greeted by a large amount of smoke. He coughed as he took out the now burned cucco. Malon couldn't help but laugh. Link never was a good cook. However, she and Talon had to go grocery shopping at Hyrule Castle Town Market, so Link had to do dinner. Unfortunately, he fell asleep watching over Zelda causing the cucco to burn.

"Well, so much for baked cucco for dinner." Malon sighed looking at the bird.

"Looks like we're having _smoked _cucco." Link tried making a pun out of it.

"Haha, you're so punny." Malon said with a fake laugh. Talon actually got a kick out of Link's pun.

"Well, let's dig in." Talon said sitting down at the dining room table. Link started cutting off pieces of the cucco and serving them.

"You gonna eat, Zelda?" Malon asked.

"No thanks. I'm not really that hungry." Zelda got up and started walking towards the stairs that led up to the bedrooms. "I think I'm just gonna go to bed and turn in early."

"Okay, my room is the only one that has two beds in it. By the way, throw your clothes into the hamper and I'll wash them tomorrow."

"Thanks Malon, Talon, Link. This is all very sweet of you guys."

"No trouble at all." Link said with a warm smile.

Zelda made it up to Malon's room and did what she was asked. She stripped of her combat clothes and took a bath in their bathroom. Unfortunately, Zelda wasn't used to not having a shower. She had to actually take a bath. Nobody else in Hyrule could afford a shower. In fact, their bath was completely different from the one she used at the castle. She actually had to boil the water for a certain amount of time to get it to the right temperature. Nonetheless, she bathed and was finally clean for the first time in 15 hours. She found a nightgown in Malon's room and put it on. Immediately after crawling into her bed, she drifted off asleep.

Having a warm bed and knowing that she was now free, Zelda assumed she was going to sleep well. She didn't. Just like the night before, Zelda had the same nightmare. It was the nightmare about Ganondorf attacking Hyrule Castle, about her father being fatally injured, about both Link and herself nearly dying from a battle with Ganondorf. Zelda shot out of bed and woke up screaming. She looked at the clock and saw that it was late, maybe 2:00. Outside, the window, the full moon cast its light into Malon's room. As much as Zelda didn't want to believe the dream, she still worried. For the rest of the night, she just lay in bed hoping to not have the nightmare again. Malon, who just woke up, lit a candle brightening up the room.

"Zelda? You okay?" Malon asked out of concern. "You were screaming just a few seconds ago."

"Yeah…I just had a nightmare. That's all." Zelda said taking deep breaths.

"Everything okay in here?" Link asked as he burst into Malon's room.

"Zelda had a nightmare. She's okay." Malon answered.

"I heard a scream and thought someone broke into your room."

"Nope, just a nightmare." Zelda assured.

"Well, you should…" Link started to say before he yawned. "…probably get back to sleep. Malon, you know we are up early in the mornings."

"I know. Goodnight Link, goodnight Zelda." Malon said before blowing out the candle and going back to sleep.

"Yeah." Zelda said as Link left the room.

Zelda planned on just lying in bed for the rest of the night, but the chances of her falling asleep and having the nightmare again were high. Instead, Zelda quietly got out of bed and quietly made her way out of the room and downstairs to the living room. It was dark, but the moonlight shone into the living room giving her a little light. She sat on the couch and just stared out the window. As much as she was glad to be away from the castle, she really did miss Impa and her father. Impa was always there when Zelda was little to comfort her whenever she had nightmares and she was the "Daddy's little girl" kind of princess when she was ten years younger.

At that point, Zelda was wondering if she was just worried or if she really was starting to miss home. She held the Triforce pendant of the necklace Impa gave her in her hand and she stared at it for a long period of time. The golden triangles glowed in the moonlight and shined in Zelda's blue eyes. While she eyed the necklace, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It broke her train of thought. She looked behind her and saw Link as he approached the couch.

"I saw you come down here." He said as he leaned on the back of the couch. "I thought I'd make sure you were alright."

"Yeah." Zelda answered. "I'm fine. Thank you, though. I just don't want to go back to sleep."

"How come?"

"I just don't want to have the nightmare again."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's complicated." Zelda said shaking her head.

"Hmm," Link thought for a moment. "Wait, I got it!"

"Huh?" Zelda watched as Link made his way upstairs. A moment or two later, he came back down with a bottle. He sat down next to Zelda and showed it to her. Inside the bottle was a small pink glow flying around. "Wow." Zelda couldn't help but laugh a bit at it. It was too cute for her. "What is it?"

"It's a fairy. Back when I was kid, I used to have nightmares all the time, so Talon caught me that fairy at a fairy's fountain while he was in Kakariko Village one time. Ever since I had that bottled fairy in my room, I stopped having nightmares. Basically, it scares them away."

"You don't say."

"Yeah. You know, some say that these little things have the power to revive people when they die." Link pointed out.

"Really? I never heard about that."

"Neither did I until Talon mentioned it in a scary story."

"A scary story?" Zelda asked curiously.

"Yep. Well anyway, I brought this down because…I want you to have it." Link said sincerely.

"Really? But what about you?"

"I actually stopped having nightmares a long time ago. I just kept the fairy in my room because it made a nice decoration."

"Thank you, Link." Zelda thanked him with a warm smile. Starting to feel tired, she leaned her head on his shoulder. "You're…the best friend I've ever had. I could never ask for anyone better than you."

Within seconds, Zelda drifted off to sleep again on Link's shoulder clenching the bottle with the fairy to her chest. Link watched Zelda as she inhaled and exhaled peacefully. He brushed the hair that fell in front of her face away until it was behind her ear. Link started getting that weird feeling in his stomach that he got when he was up in the windmill earlier that day with Zelda. He didn't understand why. Then, he picked her up and carried her back up the stairs to bed. She was so peaceful when she slept. Link placed her on her bed and pulled the blanket over her. He also put the bottled fairy on the dresser protecting her from the nightmare that haunted her that night.

Link took one last look at her before shutting the door and going back to his room. He lay back down on his bed under the covers and stared up at the ceiling. The weird feeling he had in his stomach didn't seem to want to go away. Link always had a crush on Princess Zelda ever since he saw her from a distance seven years ago when he was only ten years old, but it never triggered any weird feelings. Link took a deep breath before turning to his side.

"What am I doing?" He asked himself. "We're just…friends."

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**Author's Note: Aww, cute stuff going on here! Thank you for reviewing everyone! Your reviews mean much to me! Hope you guys have a great New Years! It's now like 12:30am on New Years Day as I'm typing this author's note up, so you guys go ahead and review while I go raid the fridge of leftovers because for some reason, I'm STARVING! Anyway, sorry for that random fact, hehe. And now…it's time for a trivia fact!**

**Trivia: The scene in this chapter where Zelda is completely delirious actually happened to my sister! After going through surgery and being under anesthesia, one of my sister's guy friends visited her in the hospital and she said the exact same thing! It was sooooo funny! His expressions were PRICELESS!**


	8. Rancher Of Hyrule

**Author's Note: Here's chapter…eight! Yes, we nearing the double-digits here! Awesome sauce! Sorry it took a little while to update! I've been playing Twilight Princess for the past couple days and I LOVE it! (Link shirtless! *drools*) Anyway, enjoy!**

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Chapter 8: Rancher of Hyrule

The rays of Hyrule's morning sun beat upon Zelda's sightline. It was bright enough that she barely cracked open her eyes and found the sun shining directly in her eyes. She found herself back in her bed. Malon was out of her bed already. Zelda had a good yawn and gave herself a good stretch. While she stood up and woke up, she realized that she actually slept and didn't have the nightmare! The fairy did some good for her. Zelda walked over to the bottled fairy and thanked Link inside her head again. Having a good night's sleep for the first time in two nights did her good.

Zelda heard a horse neighing outside. She looked out and saw Malon leading a familiar looking horse over to the stable. The horse was brown and underneath his saddle, had a blue blanket with the Triforce symbol on it. Zelda gasped when she realized that the horse was her own horse Daisuke! She quickly ran down the stairs and outside not caring that she was still in her nightgown and had bed hair. She couldn't help but hug her horse. Zelda truly loved him like a child. Daisuke nuzzled her almost as if he had been looking for her for a long time.

"Daisuke, I missed you." Zelda said stroking his neck.

"I went just outside the ranch to dump out the surprises the horses left last night and I saw him walking around. I figured he might be yours because of the blanket." Malon explained.

"Thanks Malon." The princess pet her horse once again.

"Well, I better put him away now. I have a lot of work to do."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Comes with living on a ranch. It's not paid labor, but Kakariko and Hyrule Castle pay us enough for our sources that we can keep a roof over our head and food on the table."

"Well, I'll go inside, get changed and help you out." Zelda offered.

"Oh no, I couldn't make you do any of this." Malon refused.

"Malon, I'm a princess, but I'm not useless. Now as the princess of Hyrule, I order you to let me help you with these chores."

"Well, if you're ordering me, then I guess I can't argue."

"Awesome! I'm gonna get changed and then we can get to work!"

Zelda ran back into the house and up to Malon's room. Since Zelda only had combat clothes, Malon gave her permission to raid her closet and wear whatever she wanted except for her party dress, but Zelda had no plans to attend any formal parties during her time outside of Hyrule Castle. She was sick of formal parties. The dresses were such a pain to put on. In Malon's closet, she found a white dress with a pretty blue pattern on it. Zelda changed out of her nightgown and into the white dress. She found it to be quite appealing on her and just might have to become one that she frequently wears.

When Zelda came down, she found Talon in the living room searching for something. She asked him what he was looking for, which was the measuring tape he used for measuring cuccos. Cuccos, that reminded Zelda that she hadn't eaten breakfast yet and suddenly felt so hungry. She went into the kitchen looking for something to eat. She found some eggs and took those out. She also took out the loaf of bread and homemade butter. There was also fresh-squeezed orange juice on the counter that she could drink. Zelda pretty much had her breakfast planned out. Now, all she had to do was cook it.

Living in a castle, Zelda never learned how to cook. All of the cooking was done by the castle's chefs. However, if there was one thing Zelda learned when she was a child was that you have to crack the eggs to cook them. First, Zelda sliced a piece of bread and put it into a small metal frame, which would then need to be placed over fire. There was a small candle in the kitchen, so Zelda lit it and placed the metal frame with her bread over the flame. She let it toast and then shifted her attention to her eggs. She did exactly what the chefs did, which was crack the eggs into the frying pan. Then, Zelda started beating them, but had no idea what she was doing wrong. She check and then realized the stove wasn't turned on. Zelda smacked herself in the head mentally.

'_Man, being a princess makes you dumb." _She thought to herself.

Having done what she was supposed to do, Zelda had cracked her eggs, scrambled them up, and then turned on the stove. All she had to do now was wait for her scrambled eggs to cook. Her bread was still toasting, so she left the kitchen and got a better look around things while she waited for her food to cook. After about ten minutes, the same scent she sniffed last night was back again. Zelda shrieked knowing that her breakfast was burning. The toaster was smoking and the stove had a small fire. Panicking, Zelda got a bucket of water and splashed the stove with it, but it only made the fire a little bigger. Zelda continued to run around in the kitchen until she saw Link put a lid on the frying pan and turn off the stove. Then he moved the metal frame from above the candle.

"I'm sorry." Zelda apologized. "I never learned how to cook."

Link chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Here, I'll cook you something."

"But the stove's on fire."

"Just that burner. I can use the other one."

Link smoothly and quickly prepared the food. He sliced the bread perfectly and placed it into the metal frame to be toasted. He placed a frying plan on the burner that wasn't on fire and turned it on. Zelda watched with interest. Link cracked some eggs into the pan and scrambled them up. Now Zelda realized what she was doing wrong. Link told her to go ahead and sit and it would be ready in a minute. Once the eggs were done, he dished them, buttered her toast, and poured her some of the fresh squeezed orange juice that she was dying for.

"Breakfast for one?" Link asked as he placed the plate in front of her.

"Why, thank you." Zelda thanked him. "This actually looks pretty good."

"Hey! You insulting my cooking?"

"Malon _did _say you were a bad cook."

"The only reason that cucco burned last night was because I fell asleep." Link tried to hide his embarrassment while getting some orange juice.

"By the way, how did you fall asleep?" Zelda asked curiously. "Don't your normally have like a million chores to do for the ranch?"

"Talon cut me some slack yesterday so I could watch over you. I wanted to make sure you were okay. I…kind of got bored and fell asleep and then…there goes the cucco."

"Well, that's very sweet of you." She complimented him. Zelda started eating her breakfast and Link took a drink of his juice as he sat down across from her at the table.

"You look rested." Link pointed out.

"Oh yeah! Having the fairy in my room totally worked!"

"Glad I could help."

"So, you just gonna do chores again today?" Zelda asked.

"Yeah, that's pretty much what life on a ranch is. You wake up at the crack of dawn, eat breakfast, do chores, take a lunch break, do more chores, have dinner and then relax in the evening."

"Don't you ever get bored?"

"Yeah, but it's the least I can do for Talon taking me in." Link said staring at his cup of orange juice.

"Taking you in?" Zelda asked.

"Oh, it's nothing." Link quickly said taking his last drink of juice and getting up from his seat. "Well, I'd love to chat some more, but I have to get back to work. You got anything fun planned for today?"

"Yeah, I'm helping you and Malon out with the chores."

"No…you can't possibly do that."

"Of course I can." Zelda said finishing her breakfast. "After all, I _am _the princess of Hyrule. So technically, I could do whatever I want."

"Well, if you say so." Link couldn't help but laugh. The princess wanting to do chores? "I just don't think you're gonna last one day working on a ranch."

"Try me."

"Okay fine. I'm gonna bet that you can't survive one day. From now, until 17:00. If you win, I'll give you rupees that will belong exclusively to you. Let's say…maybe…200 will do?" Link offered.

"200 rupees sounds fair." Zelda agreed crossing her arms. She always liked having bets and competing against others, especially against guys who thought she was weaker than she was. "And what about if _you _win?"

"If I win…" Link thought for a moment. He wanted to come up with something good for his reward. Zelda actually got nervous for a minute. "Okay. If I win, you have to go out with me tonight after dinner."

"A night out in Kakariko Village? Sounds more like a reward than punishment."

"Is that so?" Link asked raising one eyebrow.

"Might I remind you, I have been trapped in Hyrule Castle for a long time."

"Well then, let me warn you that you may not even like the place."

"Well, we'll just have to see at 17:00 who's paying up." Zelda said brushing past him. She opened the door to go outside.

"So Zelda, you still think I have gorgeous eyes?" Link asked obviously joking around.

"Shut up." Zelda said laughing.

Zelda walked over to the stable. It took a few minutes for Link to get out. She figured she'd be nice and wait for him even though he probably didn't deserve it after making that wise crack joke about his eyes being pretty. It wasn't funny to Zelda! She was completely out of it when she said that! Once Link finally made it out of the house, he followed Zelda into the stables. Malon, who had just gotten done milking a cow, handed the buckets to Link and he took them out.

Malon then taught Zelda how to groom a horse. She felt that would be the easiest job for Zelda to learn, so she assigned the princess to that job. Zelda found it quite easy. She washed the horses and then brushed them. There were quite a few horses, so it did take some time to get all of the horses cleaned up, but once she was done cleaning the horses, she realized it was already noon. Wow, time flies by when you're working hard, huh? This was the hour where Link, Malon, and Talon had their lunch break. Zelda sat with them and took a beak, but she wasn't hungry.

"Well, the horses are lookin' mighty tidy." Talon said having come back from checking the horses in the stable.

"Thank you." Zelda thanked him proud of her work. Link leaned back in his seat and eyed Zelda, who sat across from him.

"Getting tired yet, Princess?"

"Nope." Zelda said confidently. "I'm just getting warmed up."

"Well the afternoon chores are the most fun." Link said sarcastically.

"We'll see about that."

"Yep, in five more hours."

"Good, a challenge." Zelda said also eyeing Link.

"Wow, I gotta see this." Malon said with interest.

"I hear ya." Talon agreed.

After the break, everyone went back to work. Link obviously said at break that the afternoon chores were the hardest by his sarcasm. She hated to admit it, but he was right. Now, the horses had to be exercised. Zelda didn't understand why the horses didn't just exercise early in the morning and then bathe them in the afternoon. She couldn't complain, though. Letting the horses out to exercise was easy. Getting them back in afterwards was a different story. Zelda ended up having to chase each horse around the horse track at least once. Link, who was carrying a crate could only stand and laugh out loud at Zelda's failure in catching the horse. Zelda would stop and glare back at him before returning back to her job. Link would just shake his head in response and continue onto where he was carrying the crate.

Zelda took a deep breath after finally getting the last horse into the stall. She now knew what Link was talking about. Running the ranch was hard work. Back then, Zelda used to take the ranch for granted thinking that they had an easy life and all they had to do was sell stuff and make money. Zelda, who had her canteen equipped took a drink of water before meeting up with Malon, who was coming in to get a wheel barrel. Zelda figured that whatever Malon was doing, it was going to be hard and was going to take two people. She walked out of the stable with Malon.

"So, what's wheel barrel for?" Zelda asked.

"We have to feed the horses now." Malon answered. "If you want to, there's another wheel barrel at the side of the house if you want to grab it. It'll make the job a lot quicker."

"Works for me." Zelda grabbed the wheel barrel and the two girls walked over to where all of the hay was stacked. Link, who was walking right past them carrying a struggling cucco, couldn't help but send a look at Zelda.

"Still alive, Princess?" Link asked.

"I'll make it, you'll see."

"Yep, I'll see. And I'll laugh when you fail."

"Link…just take your cucco." Zelda said sighing out of annoyance.

While Link _was _a gentleman, there were times like this where he was such a pain in the ass. Who would've thought a young man could have those two personalities? Zelda shook it off and followed Malon over to where the haystacks were. She gasped at how huge they were. This was going to be hard. Zelda and Malon helped each other load the haystacks into each other's wheel barrels. They could only fit one at a time. Then came the fun part, pushing the wheel barrel. It was heavy. Zelda couldn't believe that ranchers had to put up with this labor every day.

It ended up taking five haystacks for each girl to push before every one of the horses was fed. After the last horse was fed, Zelda nearly collapsed from exhaustion. She had never worked like this before. The sun was setting, which meant that it was 17:00, which meant that Zelda won the bet. Looked like she was getting Link's 200 rupees after all. She dragged her tired feet into the house and collapsed onto the couch. She saw Link standing over next to the mantel of the fireplace with a grin that spelled out victory for some reason. Why was he so happy? She won the bet. He was going to have to pay her 200 rupees.

"Okay, pay up." Zelda demanded holding her hand out.

"Actually, you lost, Princess."

"Huh?"

"You had to go until 17:00, it is 16:59." Link said pointing to the clock that just struck 17:00.

"Okay, don't be evil like that. It's one whole minute."

"Sorry Princess, a deal is a deal." Link said kicking back in one of the chairs. "Hope you're in the mood for a good time tonight."

"Fine." Zelda sighed in defeat. "Just, please, don't try anything weird, okay?"

"Why would I do that?" Link asked sincerely.

"I don't know. You acted kind of different today. I don't wanna sound mean or anything, but…you were kind of a pain in the ass today."

"That's how I always am when I'm betting against someone." Link laughed. "It's called taunting. It's almost like teasing your opponent. It's a lot of fun and it's funny watching your opponent get frustrated."

"So, you really aren't like that?" Zelda asked feeling like an idiot.

"Well, I do like to crack jokes, but I'd never taunt anyone unless I was competing against them." Link said feeling bad about teasing Zelda now. "I like you, Zelda. I have no reason to make fun of you." Link paused and then flashed a toothy grin at her. "Except for the fact that you lost!" Zelda took a pillow and threw it at him. "Whoa! Hey! I didn't know the fair Princess Zelda was so violent!" Link and Zelda both laughed.

"You haven't seen half of what _this _princess can do." Zelda said standing up. "Although you have to admit it, I did last the whole day."

"Alright, yes." Link admitted. "You lasted…all but one minute."

"Thank you." Zelda thanked him.

"Your welcome." Link said with a warm smile. "By the way, how's your cut?"

"My cut?"

"Yeah, the one you got the other day when you were picking up the broken bottles. I bandaged it up for you."

"Oh!" Zelda actually forgot all about the cut. She forgot that she was supposed to be changing the bandage once a day to prevent infection. She wanted to tell Link that she was changing the bandage like he said, but she just couldn't lie to him. "I actually just…forgot all about the cut."

"Hmm, I should probably check it for infection. May I?" Link asked. Zelda held out her hand and placed it in Link's. The warmth of his hand on hers sent shivers down her spine. Link stripped her hand of the bandage and took a look at it. "Hmm, interesting…" He said to himself.

"What?"

"Your cut is healing right up. It's already starting to scab up." Link said releasing her hand. "You don't need the bandage anymore, just cold water and fresh air." His observing expression turned into a content grin. "You should be good as new soon."

"Thank you, again…" Zelda paused. She'd already thanked him, but felt like she couldn't thank him enough for all that she's done. Because of him, Zelda wasn't caught and taken back to Hyrule Castle. "Thank you, for everything." Link just kept the grin as a response. "And for the record…" Zelda began to say. "…you _do _have really gorgeous eyes."

"Thanks." Link said blushing. "So do you." He added smiling warmly.

What was it with that smile that just made Zelda want to melt? She enjoyed seeing him smile, but every time he did, it just caused her to blush. Maybe, just maybe, she was possibly developing a strong liking towards Link. Maybe she was finding herself attracted to Link. Maybe, she was falling for Link.

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**Author's Note: Yay! ZeldaxLink fluff for life! Hope you enjoyed it! Review please! I love reading your reviews! Next chapter will be up soon! But first, let's share a trivia fact about this chapter!**

**Trivia: In the original draft of this chapter, Zelda was supposed to win the bet that she had with Link, but I thought it'd be funnier if Link won, but barely.**


	9. Peaceful Evening

**Author's Note: Awesome! Chapter 9! Whoopee!**

Chapter 9: Peaceful Evening

Malon called Link and Zelda into the dining room for dinner as soon as they were done with their conversation. Zelda was actually going to be able to get a taste of what actual Lon Lon food tasted like. After what happened with the cucco the night before, Talon and Malon decided to cook pork. Zelda actually really enjoyed eating casual food for once. Now that she thought about it, the food she was served at the palace was too rich and just made her feel fat afterwards. Zelda dug into her food while everyone else just talked. Malon asked about the bet and Link proudly stated that he won. Zelda forgot, she had to go out with Link that night.

Since Zelda slept through the first half of the evening the night before, she was in for a real surprise after dinner. Once everyone was done eating, Zelda offered to wash dishes. Everyone tried to talk her out of it, but she used her princess title to get them to let her wash the dishes. They were quite shocked that Zelda actually wanted to work and do chores. While Zelda cleared everyone's dishes, Link and Talon went into the living room leaving Malon and Zelda alone in the kitchen. Perfect girl time.

"So, just out of curiosity, why do you keep asking to do our chores?" Malon asked Zelda as she finished drinking her water.

"Oh, I don't know. I mean, from the way you guys make it sound like, it seems like chores are part of daily life in Hyrule. If I'm gonnna try and live a regular life, I might as well do regular chores. Besides, I want to know what it's like to actually work to earn rupees. During my whole life, rupees were just handed to me when I wanted them. I didn't have to do anything. Now that I know what others have to do to earn rupees, I feel awful about the millions of rupees I've spent in my 17 years of life."

"You know Zelda, you're a cool princess." Malon stated. "I can't wait for you to become queen!"

"Oh, that won't be happening. I'm not going back."

"What? Surely you must want to go back one of these days?"

"Nope. I like living like other girls. I actually enjoyed getting filthy while working the ranch today. I like not having to worry about how good or how clean I look. I can actually be myself when I'm not living at the castle." Zelda said shutting her eyes enjoying life as it was. "Besides, I've made such wonderful friends. You, Talon, and Link. I hardly had any friends in the castle except for Ruto and Impa, but Ruto only came to the balls and Impa is more of a motherly figure than a friend."

"Are you sure you never want to go back?" Malon asked. Zelda nodded as she dried one of the dishes. "But, what if you meet a great prince who wants to marry you?"

"First of all, that'll never happen because my father is so stuck on me marrying Ganondorf. Second of all, no guy is ever going to draw me back to the castle. Besides, believe it or not, I want to marry someone like…Link. You know, the handsome farmer/rancher boy who is hard working, but loves his girl to death."

"That is _not _Link!" Malon couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Well, that's the Link I know. He respects me. He cares about me and my safety. I mean, sure he has his immature moments, but looking past that, he's a sweetheart. That's the kind of man I want to marry."

"Why don't you just marry Link and save the trouble of finding another guy?"

"I can't marry Link." Zelda laughed. "He's my friend. It'd be so weird if we got married. I want to marry someone that I'm in love with. I just have to make sure he doesn't want kids."

"You don't want kids?"

"I don't want any kids. They're too much work. Besides, I want to be able to travel to different kingdoms and see the world! You can't do that when you have a baby."

"You won't want to settle down and start a family ever?" Malon asked. Zelda nodded. "But what about the next generation of Hyrule rulers?"

"My father will figure something out. He usually does." Zelda said as she finished cleaning the last dish. "Okay, dishes are done." Malon walked up and put the dishes away in the cabinet.

"So you really know what you're going for, right?" Malon asked. "I wish I did."

"Oh, there's gotta be some guy or at least some type you're interested in."

"Not really. I just hope that one day…oh, never mind."

"What?" Zelda asked.

"No, it's stupid."

"Just tell me."

"Everyday…I hope that my "knight in shining armor" will come to the ranch, swoop me out from my feet, and take me away." Malon side as she sighed.

"Aw, how's that stupid?"

"It just sounds stupid."

"Hey, I had a dream like that at the castle, so no need to put yourself down. It's normal. Every girl wishes to be taken away by the man of their dreams." Zelda said looking out the window at the now, twinkling night sky.

"Yeah, but I'm just fooling myself. I'm a silly ranch girl."

"More like a hard-working ranch girl. Just give it time, and soon enough, your knight in shining armor will come riding along and take you away to your happily ever after." Zelda said as she started leaving the kitchen.

"So, you've taken a liking to Link, haven't you?" Malon said teasingly.

"Well yeah, he's really sweet."

"That's not what I mean."

"Oh Malon…" Zelda tried to explain.

"Save it. I saw you guys talking in the living room earlier." Malon said.

"Listen Malon, I'm sorry if…"

"Don't worry about it. You two would make a great couple!"

"What? No, no, no. Link and I are just good friends. Nothing more than that." Zelda said with a little disappointment in her tone.

"That's what you guys _are_, but that's not what you _want _to be. Is that right, Zelda?"

"Well…" Zelda paused.

Zelda knew that she and Link were just friends, but Malon was right. In fact, she had a point about what she said about Link earlier. If he was the kind of guy she wanted, then why didn't she just marry him? Zelda answered that for herself. He only saw Zelda as a very good friend. Oh, how the princess just loved the irony of this situation. Back at Hyrule Castle, she was swarmed by lots of young men who wanted to marry her, but they were all snobby, controlling jerks. Here at the ranch, she found the right kind of guy, but he only liked her as a friend. Not that she was in love with him. She only liked him for now having only known him for a few days, but still.

"Come on Zelda, spit it out!" Malon begged. Zelda looked around making sure neither Link nor Talon were around. Then, she held her head low.

"It's true."

"I thought so."

"Yeah, but it's just a silly little crush, nothing more!" Zelda tried to defend herself.

"It's okay. He's a great guy." Malon said. "Tonight when you two go out, you should tell him how you feel."

"No, I couldn't. I get too shy."

"What do you have to be shy about? Link would understand."

"I don't know. I'll think about it." Zelda said as she left the kitchen.

As the girls entered the living room, Talon and Link came hurrying down the stairs with a large record. They excitedly put the record in the record player and music started coming out. It was Talon's favorite country music record. He thought he lost it many years ago, but was thrilled when he and Link found it that evening. Malon, Talon, and Link all cheered as the music played. Talon began to lead his daughter and Link into a line dance. He offered Zelda to join, but she didn't know how to line dance, so she just sat on the couch and watched. She couldn't help but laugh at how bad they were dancing, but she also couldn't help but laugh at how much fun they were having.

Talon and Link both took turn twirling Malon back and forth until Link was kicked out of the line. He sat on the couch next to Zelda and watched with amusement as Talon and Malon continued to jam. Then, Malon joined Link and Zelda on the couch as Talon started to lead himself in a quick-paced dance with his feet. Malon and Link cheered as they watched him nearly tangle his feet up from dancing so fast. Zelda just broke down laughed. Once the song on the record ended, Talon ended with a split. All three of the kids on the couch cringed at the sight and Talon felt the pain. Link and Malon helped him out of his split and then he gave a bow only to accidentally bow to far and kill his back.

"Phew! Not as young as I used to be!" Talon said sitting in his favorite chair by the fire.

"Still, that was…impressive." Zelda complimented him. "If I had known you could dance like that, I could've hired you as an entertainer for our balls."

"Thanks Zelda, but I could only do this so many times."

"Let's see what else we've got." Malon said going up to the record player. She picked up a red labeled record and put it into the player. As soon as the music started, she immediately recognized it. "Oh my goddesses! It's the Waltz of the Flowers!" She started twirling around not even caring she probably looked stupid. "I remember this song from whenever the Zoras did the Nutcracker!"

"The Nutcracker?" Zelda asked curious.

"The Zoras always put on a production of the Nutcracker at Zora's Domain every Christmas." Link answered. "It's an interesting twist on the original ballet since it's all done in the water."

"So it's almost like synchronized swimming, but with a storyline and funny costumes." Talon added on.

"Oh! I know! Those costumes are hilarious! But those little Zoras are soooo cute when they're dressed like the sugarplum fairies!" Malon agreed. She listened in and her favorite part of the song was coming up. "Oh my goddesses! This is my favorite part! Link, do you remember the waltz the Zoras did?"

"As a matter of fact, I do!"

Link went up and started leading Malon in a waltz. Zelda watched them, but for some reason, wasn't a big fan of what she currently saw. At that point, she finally admitted to herself that she did have a crush on Link and nothing could change that. Oh, how she wanted to be the one waltzing with him like she did on the night of the ball before she ran away. Zelda rested her head on her arm while she kept her focus on Link, who was laughing along with Malon about how bad they were reinterpreting the waltz. Talon was also getting a kick out of it.

"Wow, you suck." Malon laughed at Link.

"You're just as bad!"

"Never mind the music." Talon said getting up and cracking his back into the way it was before. "Go ahead and put the records away. It's time for scary stories."

"Yay!" Malon cheered as she and Link both sat on the couch with Zelda. "You'll love Dad's scary stories Zelda, they just scare the living daylights out of you!"

"Sweet!" Zelda said. She was always a fan of scary stories. Yeah, she was a strange princess, but Hyrule loved her anyway. Talon came back with a tray that had a heap of cookies and some mugs of steaming liquid.

"Hot apple cider and cookies for everyone!" He set the tray down on the coffee table in front of them. "Okay, which one sounds better, Majora's Mask or the Phantom Hourglass?"

"Majora's Mask." All three of them answered as they sipped their cider.

"Okay. You sure you'll make it through, Zelda?" Talon asked. She nodded her head. "Alright then, here it goes. Long ago, there was an ancient tribe that created a mask filled with dark magic as a form of torture to those sentenced to death. This mask's dark magic was so mind-boggling that it caused the most excruciating internal pain anyone could ever bear to feel. Well, one day, this mask's power became so strong and uncontrollable that the tribe sealed it away in a tomb to prevent any harm to the innocent. After it was sealed, nobody could ever imagine that it could ever be recovered. Well, they were wrong. Thousand years later, the mask was discovered by an unknown explorer, who then sold the mask to a mask collector for thousands of rupees. The mask collector felt that nothing could stop him from becoming the greatest mask salesman in all of Hyrule. That was, until one day, Majora's Mask was stolen. He was out on travel trying to sell masks when suddenly an imp, known as the Skull Kid, attacked the mask salesman and stole the all powerful mask. Using the power of the mask, the Skull Kid manipulated the moon and laid a curse on it that stated that within 72 hours of when the curse was laid, the moon would collapse onto the world. Many tried to flee of this terrible catastrophe, but none prevailed. The moon _did _collapse onto the world wiping out everyone in it only leaving Majora's Mask in supreme darkness claiming the universe his own." Talon finished off his story in a sinister tone. Then, his voice went back to normal. "Well, what'd you think of it?"

Link was, believe it or not, shivering and hiding behind a pillow while Zelda and Malon were holding each other shivering. Talon just stared at their scared stiff positions. Maybe that one was a little too intense for them? Normally his stories scared them, but not to the point where they would be speechless. Talon got up from the chair and lit up the fireplace putting some extra light in the room. Link came back out from behind the pillow and Zelda and Malon dropped each other's grips.

"Scary, huh?" Talon asked chuckling.

"Scary? That was insane!" Malon cried out. "I'm gonna have nightmares now!"

"Don't worry. We have the fairy." Zelda said. She then looked over at Link. "I'm more concerned about _him _though."

"I don't need a fairy. I never have nightmares." Link said leaning back in the couch.

"Tough talk for someone who looked like they were about to wet their pants." Malon mentioned. The girls laughed. Link glared at them.

"Well, maybe one story is enough for tonight." Talon chuckled.

Link got up from the couch and stretched. "Yep, I'm calling it a day. 'Night, Talon, Malon, Zelda."

"Yep, I'm headin' up too. Gotta rest the old back now." Talon said as he followed Link upstairs.

Zelda watched as Link and Talon went upstairs. She was tired out, but not to the point where she wanted to go to bed at the moment. Malon, realizing that the plants in the house needed water, got up and went into the kitchen. Feeling bored just sitting on the couch, Zelda got up and walked over to a shelf that had novels on it. On the floor, one particular board creaked and honestly, Zelda loved the sound. Creaking floors reminded her of horror stories. In fact, every time she walked into a house that had a creaking floor, she'd joke around saying that the place was haunted. Malon and Talon's house was truly lovely for her.

Finding a few particular books that sounded interesting, Zelda took them from the shelf and searched through them. One had a blue dragon on the cover. Another one had a boy riding a black panther on the cover. The third one she chose had the portrait of a famous playwright on it. As Zelda searched through the books, the sound of flipping pages filling the room, Malon came in with a bottle of water. She filled up each plant one by one until the water was gone. Malon saw Zelda looking through the books and sat down with her after she was done watering.

"This one's my favorite." Malon said picking up the one with the boy and the panther on the cover. "It has many stories that are just amazing."

Zelda picked up the book. "Really? Maybe I'll have to start with this one, then."

"Feel free to go find a quiet spot whenever you feel like it. You don't _have _to hang out with us if you don't want to."

"But I do. I love being with you guys. In fact, you guys are all that I wish I could've been."

Malon looked at the princess confused. "You want to be like us?"

"Yeah. I mean, you three are some of the friendliest people I've ever met. Not to mention, you guys are a family, which is something I never really had. My father would always be too caught up in being the king that he wouldn't spend time with me. I still had Impa, but…I never had any of those 'family nights' that you guys have here. I wish I could've had a family like this. I'd trade riches for family any day." Zelda explained.

"And for a handsome rancher boy?" Malon asked teasing Zelda. The princess responded with a blush and then both girls laughed.

Zelda and Malon sat on the couch began conversing for what seemed like hours about everyday stuff. After that evening, it had seemed like Zelda had found what she was looking for, a normal life with a normal family with normal friends.

**Author's Note: Okay, so the ending sucked! So sue me! I actually had this chapter done a couple days ago, but I kind of rushed to get this chapter done tonight since I'm leaving to go back to college tomorrow, which means…le gasp! Less frequent updates! Not to mention that I still have about three Wii games that I haven't beaten yet, so…yeah. Anyway, please leave a review and then here's the next trivia fact!**

**Trivia: The three books that Zelda was looking through were Eragon, The Jungle Book, and The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Those three books are my all time favorites!**


	10. Zelda's Lullaby

**Author's Note: Woot! Chapter ten! We're making serious progress here! Cool awesomeness!**

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Chapter 10: Zelda's Lullaby

At about 21:00, Zelda finally decided to call it a night. Malon and Talon called it a night earlier, but Zelda got enough sleep the night before, so she wasn't in any hurry to go to bed. In fact, she was actually surprised that Link didn't remind her that she still had to go out that evening. The evening sky was clear with a full moon and millions of tiny stars twinkling. Zelda sat on the window sill in Malon's room and just gazed at the stars. She missed having the view of the sky at night from her balcony, though. Plus, her balcony just made it seem more romantic, _if _she had that special guy standing next to her.

Suddenly, Zelda got an idea. She looked into her pouch and pulled out a blue instrument with twelve holes that glimmered in the moonlight. It was her family's secret treasure, the Ocarina of Time. Not wanting to wake up Malon, Zelda stepped outside the house and sat up against it. It had been a while since she played the ocarina, so she wasn't sure how well she could play it now. Zelda put the mouth piece in her mouth and she started playing a few notes. They sounded like an ear-shrieking squeak. Zelda quickly pulled the ocarina out of her mouth and looked around it making sure it wasn't damaged. Normally, the ocarina didn't sound this terrible. Zelda tried to play again. She was able to play a few notes, but not a whole song.

Zelda stopped playing and listened to winds as they blew through the trees and through the wind chimes. It sounded so peaceful, like little bells ringing. She lay back on the ground and took it all in. She never had a chance to just lie down on the ground and gaze at the stars back at home. This was heaven to her. Zelda was hoping that tonight would be the night that she would see a shooting star, but she wasn't lucky after gazing for about twenty minutes. The aroma of sunflowers blew in her direction from right across. Zelda remembered going through the castle courtyard and picking flowers to give to visitors at the castle when she was little. The good old days when Zelda didn't have to care about anything important.

As Zelda shut her eyes to take another deep breath of the fresh hair, she heard a soothing sound coming from above her. It sounded like an ocarina. She knew it wasn't her ocarina because she wasn't even playing hers. Zelda liked the song that was being played. It was soothing to her ears and sounded like a song that would be played to put a young child to sleep, a lullaby. Zelda followed the sound of the ocarina and could hear it coming from the top of the roof. She walked into the house and followed the sound all the way upstairs to the second floor. In Link's room, she saw that there was a ladder and that he wasn't in his room. Zelda walked into his room and started climbing up the ladder.

Once she made it to the top, she found herself on top of the roof of the house. Zelda gasped at the view she had from up top. She could see the whole ranch from the roof. It was beautiful! Zelda got up onto the roof and stood up high getting a good look at everything. She heard the ocarina playing again after a pause. It was the same soothing tune she heard below. Off to the side, Zelda saw Link swaying from side to side with an ocarina mouthpiece in his mouth. She could see he was in deep concentration for his eyes were shut. She thought he looked so peaceful with his eyes shut.

Zelda sat down off to the side from Link and watched him as he played the ocarina. He played it like someone who had been playing it all his life. The medley he was playing started off with a song that reminded Zelda of animals, then Link began to play a song that she distantly heard while she was in the Lost Woods, and he finally closed his medley with the soothing song she heard while she was still down on the ground. Link took a deep breath when he was done playing and opened his eyes. He set the ocarina down and gazed out ahead.

"You play the ocarina really well." Zelda said. He turned around and was surprised to see her all the way up on the roof.

"You're not afraid of heights?" Link asked.

"I lived in a bedroom that was most likely 100 feet tall. You get used to it."

"Right. You're the only person other than myself who has come up here."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Everyone else is afraid of heights. The way I see it, I wonder where is their sense of adventure?" Link stood up. "There's so much to see! Hyrule's a big land! There are also plenty of other kingdoms to see as well!"

"Well, you are definitely the adventurous type without a doubt." Zelda laughed as he sat back down next to her.

"When I was nine years old, I made a wish on a shooting star wanting to go on an adventure."

"Did your wish come true?"

"Oh yeah." Link answered quickly. "I had a great adventure going through the Kakariko graveyard." Zelda then realized that he was kidding. Link looked down at his ocarina and then back at Zelda. "So, do you play?"

"Sort of."

"What do you mean, sort of?"

"Well, I know only one song." Zelda said pulling out her ocarina. "Besides, I'm not that good at playing it."

"Aw come on, you can't be that bad." Link said tapping her on the back. "Try me."

"You want me to play it?"

"I'm sick of hearing myself play. I want to hear someone else play."

"Okay." Zelda said nervously.

Hoping that she wasn't going to make a huge fool of herself, Zelda placed the mouthpiece in her mouth. She began to blow in as soft notes started coming out of the bright blue instrument. Link watched her intently as she concentrated on getting the right notes out. He almost lost focus on the song itself from focusing on Zelda too much. Zelda swayed back and forth as she played a melody that Link wasn't familiar with. Once she was done playing, she removed the ocarina from her mouth and looked at it surprised.

"Wow. You're really good." Link complimented her.

"Like I said, it's the only song I know."

"What's it called?"

"The Song of Time." Zelda was hesitant to tell him what the song was at first.

"It's beautiful." Link said softly. "And your ocarina…it looks different than the other ones that I've seen. How come?"

"I probably shouldn't tell you this…" Zelda said with a pause. "…but I trust you." She shared her blue ocarina with Link. "This is the Royal Family's treasure, the Ocarina of Time."

"Wow." Link blew into it. "Doesn't sound any different though."

"I know. The only difference this thing has with a regular ocarina is its color." Zelda took back her ocarina. "So, that song you were playing, I've never heard of it."

"I wrote it, that's why." Link leaned back so he was lying down on the roof staring up at the stars. "As a matter of fact, I wrote it last night. I was just practicing it."

"Really? It's so pretty! What'd you call it?"

"You don't wanna know the name, you'd laugh at me."

"Why would I laugh? It's such a pretty song." Zelda said scooting closer to Link, who just sat back up. "Please!"

"Okay." Link breathed out a sigh of defeat. "I call it…" Before he could say anything else, he turned to Zelda and gazed into her eyes. "I call it…Zelda's Lullaby."

Zelda couldn't help but blush as her lips curved into a smile. Link returned it and picked up his ocarina offering to play it once more so she could really enjoy. She accepted the offer and Link started playing again. The song was so beautiful to her. She couldn't believe that someone would write a song like that and name it after her. Nobody had ever done that for her, even when she was still living in the castle, with the except of one boy who wrote a song for her, but he was only five years old, so he didn't really count.

Feeling a little drowsy from the soothing of the melody, Zelda lay back on the roof. She watched the stars and then saw Link lie down on the roof next to her. He still played the song. She studied his face as he continued to play her lullaby. He shut his eyes again like he did the last time. Link opened his eyes after he was done playing and shifted his attention over to Zelda. She and Link both lay there on the roof holding each other's gaze as Zelda's Lullaby continued to echo through her mind.

"I love it." Zelda said softly referring to the song.

"Good. I wrote it for you." Link said.

"By the way, if I'm not mistaken," Zelda began as she sat back up. "We're supposed to go out tonight."

"Yeah, we are, but…we don't really have to go if you don't want to."

"Actually…I'd love to go out. I've never had a night out in the village. I've always been there during the day."

"Well, if you'd like to, then we'll go." Link said getting up. "I know the perfect place to go to tonight."

"Really? What is it?"

"I'm not telling you." Link said shaking his head. "You'll have to be surprised."

"Aw, man." Zelda whined.

"But, you might want to change into your combat clothes. This place we're going to is very casual."

"Okay. I'll get changed and then we can go."

"Sounds good." Link said as he followed Zelda down the ladder back into his room. "Oh, wait a second."

"Yeah?" Zelda turned around and faced Link. He took a strand of her hair and put it behind her ear.

"Sorry, it was a strand of hair." He said for what seemed like the millionth time.

"It's okay." Zelda giggled and went back to Malon's room to get changed.

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**Author's Note: I know! Short chapter! I'm sorry! I needed a little filler between the last chapter and the next one, so…yeah. Anyway next chapter will be better AND it's time for trivia!**

**Trivia: The scene where Zelda is asking Link about the song he was playing (Zelda's Lullaby) is based on a scene from a fan-made Zelda film on youtube called The Triforce Prophecy. It's a good fan-made film and is definitely recommended for ZeLink fans because that's what the film mainly touches on. It's so cute!**


	11. Night Out

**Author's Note: Chapter Eleven! Yay! I'm gonna bring in a couple characters from Majora's Mask in this chapter, so yeah. You'll know who they are.**

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Chapter 11: Night Out

Attempting to keep quiet, Zelda changed from her nightgown into her combat clothes that Malon got washed. She was glad to be back in her combat clothes. They were probably the most comfortable clothes she ever wore. Zelda smiled at herself as she put on her combat boots. The fact that she was actually going to have a night out for the first time in her life got her excited. Not to mention she was going to be with Link the entire time. Zelda had almost achieved her mission of keeping quiet and letting Malon sleep, but the last five minutes were epic failure. Zelda tripped over the dress she wore earlier and stumbled forward. Malon woke up and lit a candle. It was about 22:30 by this time.

"Zelda, where are you going?" Malon asked groggily.

"Kakariko Village."

"By yourself this late in the evening?"

"Of course not." Zelda laughed. "Link's taking me."

"A date, I assume?" Malon eyed the excited princess teasingly.

"It's not a date. I owe him from losing the best, remember?"

"Uh-huh."

"I'm serious." Zelda defended.

"Whatever you say." Malon sighed shaking her head. "I think you should tell him how you feel, though."

"I'm still not sure about that."

"Well, what do you have to lose? Link likes you and he'll like you no matter what your feelings are for him."

"You really think so?" Zelda asked nervously. "I mean, won't it make our friendship kind of awkward?"

"Maybe…but what if he likes you the same way and you never found out?"

"Then…ugh! This is why I hate romance! It's so complicated!"

"Just do what your heart tells you to." Malon suggested before snuggling back into bed. "Have a fun time."

"Right." Zelda said to herself.

Link awaited outside of the house. He had Epona all ready to go. Zelda came outside and put her cloak on as a finishing touch. Link offered to just take Epona and Zelda could ride on her too, but Zelda really wanted to take Daisuke. She went into the stable and got Daisuke. The beautiful horse of brown fur followed his rider out of the stable over to where Epona was. If Link and Zelda were mistaken, it seemed that Epona was starting to take a liking to Daisuke since she didn't spook around him anymore. Daisuke seemed shy around Epona now. Zelda just laughed when he turned his head away from Epona. She kissed her horse on the forehead and then mounted on top of him.

"Okay, now are you gonna tell me where we're going?" Zelda asked Link as he mounted on top of Epona.

"Nope." He said boldly knowing he was driving the princess crazy. "You'll just have to wait and see when we get there."

"It's not going to be any place weird is it?"

"I already told you I wouldn't try anything weird with you, didn't I?" Link reminded her.

Link _did _say that he wouldn't ever try anything weird with her. Still, she had to be cautious. If there was one thing Zelda knew about all guys is that guys were guys and they still had similar thoughts when it came to taking girls out. Link got Epona going and Zelda did the same to Daisuke. After they exited the ranch, the horses got going a lot faster and nearly galloped all the way to Kakariko Village. It was a long walk to Kakariko, but on horseback, it took no time at all, especially if riding Epona, who was faster than the average horse.

After the adrenaline rush of a horse galloping on a breezy evening, Link and Zelda arrived at Kakariko Village. At first, Zelda thought it looked the same as it did during the day except for there was nobody outside. Most of the houses were dark inside while some had fires going. Zelda admired a mom reading a storybook to her two kids by the fire as they passed a house. She continued to follow Link through town still having no idea where they were going. Daisuke and Epona were parked at the entrance to the village, so now they traveled on foot. Zelda remembered being nearly caught and taken back to Hyrule Castle the morning after she ran away. Because of Link, she got to keep her freedom.

"Oh!" Link suddenly thought of something.

"What?"

"Come on!" Link grabbed Zelda's hand and started running in a different direction.

"Where are we going?" Zelda asked trying to prevent Link from dragging her.

"Just a quick little detour."

Link and Zelda ran past a few houses towards the direction of the windmill. They stopped when Link found what he wanted. About ten yards in front of them was a large well. Zelda was positive that Link was looking for the well. The question was what was so special about the well? It was just a place to get water. She waited while Link reached into a pouch and pulled out two green rupees. He handed one to Zelda. She took the rupee and looked at it wondering why the heck she needed a green rupee.

"So, what's this for?" Zelda asked.

"We throw them into the well now." He answered tossing his rupee up and down.

"Why would you throw rupees into a well?"

"You've never heard of a wishing well?" Link asked. Zelda shook her head. "Basically, you make a wish and throw the rupee into the well. And that's it."

"Then what happens?"

"Nothing. It's just for fun." Link shrugged. "But some say that if you toss your rupee into the well with your back turned to it, your wish will come true."

"Really?" Zelda asked. She turned her back to the well, closed her eyes, made a wish in her head, and then tossed the rupee. It landed on the side of the well. She heard the sound the rupee made on the stone. "Aw, man." Zelda then picked up the rupee and tossed it into the well. "I think I'm gonna stick with wishing on stars."

"I just thought it'd be fun. A lot of couples come here and toss their rupees in and make wishes about each other."

"Aw, that's so romantic." Zelda couldn't help but giggle.

"Yeah." Link said a little down.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. After I toss my rupee in, I'll take you to where we're going."

"Okay."

Link turned his back to the well, closed his eyes, and tossed the rupee into the well. The rupee had landed in the well. Link smiled out of victory and went to fetch Zelda, who was concentrating on an owl that flew above Kakariko Village. The two of them walked through the quiet, sleeping village. It was quiet until Link found what he was looking for. It was a good-sized, one-story building. It was lit up inside and Zelda could see silhouettes of energetic people having a good time. Zelda wasn't sure what to say about it except for, it looked a bit wild inside.

"Here we are." Link said.

"We're going in _here_?" Zelda asked in shock.

"Yep. Trust me, you'll love it."

Trust him. Zelda did normally trust Link, so she followed him into the building. The sign above the door to it said "Kakariko Milk Bar". Inside, there were people sitting at tables and sitting at the bar. There were two empty seats next to a young man who was around Link's age. He had semi-long purple hair, and wore a purple tunic with white sleeves. Zelda followed Link over to where the two empty seats were and Link surprised the young purple-haired man from behind.

"Stabbed! Right in the heart!" Link cried out.

"Link!" The purple-haired man greeted. "I haven't seen you in a few days, what's been going on?"

"A lot of things." Link answered taking a seat and revealing Zelda, who was standing right behind him.

"Hey! You're…Princess Zelda, right?" Link's friend went up to her.

"Y-yes, I am." Zelda answered blushing.

"Name's Kafei." He held out his hand and Zelda shook it.

"We're good friends." Link pointed out referring to him and Kafei.

"Nice to meet you, Kafei." Zelda said and then took a seat next to Link.

"So, you two lovebirds on a date or something?"

"Uh…actually…not really." Both Link and Zelda tried saying the same thing.

"We're just friends." Zelda clarified.

"Darn." Kafei groaned. "I thought maybe Link was getting some girl action here." Zelda couldn't help but laugh at Link's embarrassment. "So, how'd you get mixed up with the princess here?"

"It's a long story." Link answered.

"Well, I've got until 2:00 to listen."

"Why stay so long?" Zelda asked.

"Because, it's game night for the girls at the Kakariko Inn. They come in and play card games and drink Chateau Romani."

Kafei spun around in his stool and looked at the girls who were playing the card games, one of them in particular. This girl had shoulder-length red hair, wore a long blue skirt and a black tank top with a white long-sleeve shirt underneath. They were work clothes, without a doubt, but Kafei didn't care. He thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Zelda couldn't tell whether he was looking at one girl or all of them, but Link knew exactly who Kafei was looking at.

"You're still going after Anju?"

"Are you kidding? Of course I am! She's gorgeous."

"How the heck are you gonna make a move on her when she doesn't even know you?"

"I…" Kafei began to say. "…have no idea."

"Here, you can always borrow these." Zelda said as she took out her gold studded earrings and held them out to Kafei.

"What'll these do?"

"Simple. Walk up to her and tell her that you found those. Ask her if she was missing any earrings and then go with the flow from there." Zelda explained.

"You sure about this?" Kafei asked both Link and Zelda.

"I'm sure." Link answered leaning against the bar. "But just so you know, I'm gonna crack up if you get slapped."

"You're not helping!" Kafei groaned out of frustration.

"Just go." Zelda said giving him slight push.

Link and Zelda watched as Kafei started walking up to where Anju and a bunch of her girlfriends were. As he got close to her, he looked back at Link and Zelda with a nervous look on his face. They silently cheered for him as he turned back around and started moving towards Anju. As much as he wanted to watch the action, Link spun his stool around so he was facing the bar again and left his friend alone. Zelda did the same thing. She actually thought it was cute how nervous Kafei was to meet Anju. That was another type Zelda enjoyed. She liked the kinds of guys that were shy. She thought it was cute whenever guys stuttered and messed up. It showed that they weren't perfect and yet, still good enough to consider.

"Hey, sorry if I kinda ignored you for a minute there." Link apologized.

"No problem." Zelda laughed. "I've been bugging your for the past few days. You and Kafei need guy time sometimes."

"Yeah, but if the whole thing with Anju works out, then she's gonna be bugging him for the longest time. Then, I won't have _any _guy time with anybody."

"There's Talon." Zelda pointed out.

"Talon doesn't count. He's too old to know what's hip and cool these days. The only thing he knows about today's generation that is hip is Chateau Romani." Link explained. "Oh! Speaking of which, have you ever had a Cheateau Romani before?"

"I've never even heard of one."

"Oh, then you haven't lived!" Link pulled out his pouch of rupees. "Tonight, you're going to have your first Chateau Romani."

"But what _is _a Chateau Romani?"

"Basically, it's Lon Lon Milk with alcohol mixed with it."

"Hi, what can I get ya?" The server at the bar asked Link.

"Uh…two Chateau Romanis."

"That'll be 100 rupees." Link pulled out five red rupees and gave them to the server who went back to get the drinks.

"Anyway," Link continued. "It's an adult drink only. Nobody under age 16 can drink it."

"How come?" Zelda asked. Now she was curious about how 'amazing' this drink was.

"The side effects. If a child even consumes half a Chateau Romani, they will end up _wasted_! If a child consumes a whole one, it can kill them."

"From what? What kills them?"

"Alcohol poisoning, which is why adults can only drink Chateau Romani. We, as adults, can take up to two Cheateau Romani drinks before becoming completely drunk and wasted. Any more than two, the person will be putting themselves at risk. That's why they limit two drinks per person here." Link finished his explanation as the drinks came. "Well, drink up!"

"I dunno about this anymore. I'd like to live my life before I die from toxic milk." Zelda said looking at the drink.

"Don't worry about it Zelda. Just stick with one and you'll be okay." Link said as he opened the bottle of Romani.

"Well…" Zelda started opening the bottle. She got it fully opened and picked it up. "Okay, I trust you."

Zelda watched as Link put the bottle to his lips and took a drink of the rich milk. She put the bottle up to her face and took in its sweet scent. It almost smelled like vanilla, which was quite strange since there was supposed to be alcohol in it. Link put his bottle down and tapped Zelda signaling her to take a drink. Taking a deep breath, Zelda put the bottle to her lips and she took a small drink of the Romani. After letting the milk go through her system, she felt a sudden rush go through her mind. Her eyes widened at the drink.

"Oh…my…Goddesses!" Zelda said in shock. "Where was this stuff all my life?"

"Alright Zelda!" Link cheered. "Cheers!" Zelda and Link clanked their bottles together and took another drink. Zelda couldn't believe she had been an adult for a year and a half and never went to a milk bar.

"This is great!" Zelda said laughing.

"I told you! Just limit yourself and the drink is harmless almost. Although, it does boost up your energy a little."

"I've noticed! I suddenly feel so awake!" Zelda said picking up the bottle and taking another drink.

"Link! Zelda!"

Link and Zelda spun their stools around and saw Kafei speed walking over to them with Zelda's studs in one hand a huge grin across his face. They assumed it must've been good and congratulated him. Zelda took her studs back and put them into her ears. Kafei sat back at his own seat next to Link.

"So, tell us everything." Link said.

"Well, I asked her about the earring and noticed she was playing my favorite card game! Shenanigans! Then, she said it was her favorite too. Then, she offered me to join her friends in a round. So, I played around and beat them all!" Kafei explained getting excited. "And then, I asked her if I could get to know her better and asked her to have dinner with me one night and…"

"And?" Link and Zelda both asked.

"She accepted!"

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Link said patting his friend on the back.

"Hey! Hit me with another Romani!" Kafei called to the server.

"Kafei, didn't you already have one?" Link asked.

"Yeah, but I'm too happy to go home, now!" The server gave Kafei another Chateau Romani and Kafei started to down it. Link and Zelda watched him in shock.

"Hey Zelda, I think we might be giving him a ride home after tonight."

"Understandable." Zelda agreed.

While the three friends enjoyed their drinks together, a Celtic band went onto the small stage and started playing Celtic music. Zelda, who happened to be the biggest sucker for Celtic music, spun around in her stool towards the direction of where the music was coming from. She saw the Celtic musicians playing some upbeat Celtic music. People in the bar started to bob their heads to it. Zelda got excited since this was just about her favorite kind of music to dance to. She couldn't help her excitement and stood up. Link turned away from his drink and saw Zelda getting up.

"Whoa, getting excited are we?" Link mentioned.

"Link, you don't understand! This is my absolute favorite kind of music!" Zelda cried out over the noise. She grabbed Link by the hand and dragged him off his stool "Come on! Dance with me!"

"Wha-?"

Link hardly had any time to react. Zelda was already dragging him through the crowd. She got up onto the stage and threw her cloak off. Some guys started wolf whistling at her while most of the crowd started applauding as she started dancing a speedy quick Celtic dance with her feet. Link couldn't help but smile. Kafei came up and joined him in the ground. The Celtic musicians enjoyed having Zelda's company. She even grabbed a flower that was on a crowd member's coat and threw it to one of the musicians. He caught it with his mouth and blushed.

"Wow! That's _our _Princess Zelda?" Kafei asked in shock.

"I know! Goes to show you she doesn't get out very often!" Link agreed. He enjoyed the fact that Zelda was having the time of her life right now. She unexpectedly bent down and held her hand out to Link.

"Come on up!" Link grabbed her hand and went up on the stage even though he had no idea what to do.

"I can't dance!"

"Sure you can! You dance with me at the ball!"

"That was a waltz, I can't do Celtic!" Link said nervously as people stared at him from in the crowd below him.

"It's easy!" Zelda said. She grabbed Link's hands and showed him what to do. "Just move your feet with the music."

"O-kay." Link said looking down at his feet. Zelda let go of his hands and he started at least attempting to do a Celtic dance. The crowd started to applaud at his efforts. "Hey! I'm doing it!"

"I told you it was easy!"

"This is awesome!" Link laughed.

"Go Link!" Kafei cheered for his friend.

Link just shoved his hands behind his back and continued moving his feet with the music. Zelda showed him some hand movements that he could add in and follow. Basically, for a long period of time, Link just mirrored Zelda's actions as the two partiers danced their hearts out on the stage. At some point when Link and Zelda separated to different parts of the stage, Link suddenly got an idea.

"Mind if we add a twist to this?" He asked.

"Sure, but how?"

Unexpectedly, Link grabbed Zelda by the hand and pulled her close to him. Zelda began to blush madly. He started leading her in what seemed like a mix between a Celtic dance and a tango. She was twirled and lifted. The crowd continued to roar with applause. Even the musicians (who weren't playing instruments with their mouths) cheered for the princess and Link. By the end of the song, Link had her close to the point that they were inches away from each other's faces. Zelda blushed like crazy and Link just smiled while breathing heavily. The crowd cheered for them and some even threw rupees up there. Link was going to gather the rupees, but Kafei ended up snatching them up first.

Zelda just stood up on the stage looking out at the crowd and felt like crying. Tonight was just the perfect night and she couldn't have been happier.

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**Author's Note: Wow! So Zelda knows how to party apparently! And Link can apparently do Celtic dance! And Kafei apparently loves rupees! Yay! By the way, during the dance scene, you should listen to the Mushroom Gorge track from the Mario Kart Wii soundtrack because they were dancing to a song like that. Now, it's time for trivia!**

**Trivia: The dance scene was based off of the dance party scene from **_**Titanic.**_** I just love how much fun Jack and Rose have in that scene!**


	12. Sweet Dreams

**Author's Note: Okay, as of right now, I'm writing this at 12:52am having just finished writing chapter eleven. Wow, I have to go get sleep! But I just couldn't sleep without this chapter getting done!**

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Chapter 12: Sweet Dreams

At about 2:30, Link and Zelda figured it would be a good time to call it a night, or in this case, early morning. Just like Link had predicted, Kafei did get drunk having consumed two Chateau Romanis. He started flirting with just about every girl in the bar and got slapped by just about every one of them. Thankfully, Anju left before that started, so he didn't have to deal with her. Then, Kafei thought he was a Goron and kept shouting at a bottle "grow, you stupid bomb flower, goro!" While Link and Zelda found it amusing to watch, they knew that they had to get Kafei out of the bar before he got arrested.

Link went and grabbed Kafei and slung him over his shoulder. Kafei said that he wanted to ride a pony and Link covered that by saying that he could ride on his horse. Of course, being as drunk as he was, Kafei argued and said he wanted to ride a _pony _not a _horse_. Zelda laughed the whole time Link carried Kafei. It was just too funny. There was a time where Kafei thought he was being kidnapped by a stalfos and started beating Link on the back. Link was tough, so he just took it.

"We're almost to your house, Kafei." Link sighed.

"No…me want…your princess…" Kafei mumbled. Zelda looked at him funny. "She got…gots…nice…"

"I don't want you finishing that." Zelda said as she closed Kafei's mouth with her hand. Whose idea was it to let Kafei buy more than one Chateau Romani? After one more house, they finally found Kafei's house.

"Here you are." Link said opening the door and taking Kafei in.

"Nooooooooo…no home…I want…poes…for breakfast…" Kafei mumbled as Link placed him on the couch. Zelda gagged at the thought of eating a poe for breakfast. "Poes…where are my poes….where are…my…poes…"

In a matter of seconds, Kafei fell asleep and started snoring loudly. Link laughed softly at his friend's odd behavior and then put a blanket over him. He mumbled a couple words in his sleep as Link put the blanket on, but then went back to snoring. As funny as Kafei's behavior was, Zelda was a little concerned that maybe he would sleep walk and end up drowning or something.

"Link, do you think maybe you should stay the night with him. Just to make sure he doesn't kill himself sleepwalking?" Zelda asked.

"Nah, he'll be fine."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I'm taking his key." Link smirked.

"Wow, sneaky." Zelda nodded in agreement with the idea. "So then he'll be locked in?"

"Yep, I've locked both the lock going out the house and the lock coming in. Now, he has no reason to sleepwalk out of his house." Link said with confidence. "So, shall we go?"

"Yeah. I don't know how much longer Daisuke can last." Zelda then yawned. "Besides, I'm getting tired. Today was a long day."

"I know. You worked your butt off from morning till sundown and then haven't slept once tonight." Link agreed.

Link and Zelda left Kafei's house and walked over to where the horses where still parked. They were both still awake. Both Link and Zelda each praised their horses for being troopers and remaining awake for almost the entire time. Link had brought along a couple carrots. He gave one to Zelda and fed one to Epona. Zelda stroked Daisuke and then fed him the carrot . Then, Zelda started to mount Daisuke and suddenly her vision went blurry for a few seconds. She hopped back down and let her vision return to normal.

"Zelda? You okay?" Link noticed her holding her head briefly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She mounted Daisuke and they started heading out of the village. They tried to get the horses going a little faster, but they were too tired, so they had to settle for a slow ride back to the ranch, which was just fine. It gave them a chance to converse.

"So, did you enjoy yourself?" Link asked.

"Oh, I did!" Zelda said remembering the dancing, the Chateau Romani, and she liked Link's friend Kafei too. "Honestly, I've never had so much fun in my whole life."

"Really? So, you've never been to a milk bar before?"

"Nope. Story of my life, trapped in Hyrule Castle for most of my life."

"Wow, so you _really _hardly got out at all." Link said feeling bad for her.

"Yeah, but I had so much fun tonight." Zelda said with a warm smile. She turned her attention forward again and the field started spinning a little. "Oh wow…"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm…just a little…dizzy."

"Oh boy. It's the Romani." Link said pulling Epona to a halt. "We should wait until the side effects pass on through."

"Side effects?"

"Yeah." Link dismounted Epona after Zelda pulled Daisuke to a halt. "Your body isn't used to the alcohol, so you might be a little buzzed."

"Buzzed?"

"A very light case of the drunk state. Very light. Not a big deal at all." Link said helping Zelda off of Daisuke. He carried her over to a wall nearby and set her down. "Wait here while I bring over the horses."

Zelda obeyed and remained on the wall waiting for Link to bring over Epona and Daisuke. She leaned back and gazed up at the stars. Tonight was such a fun night and she didn't want it to end. Everything was amazing. Zelda shut her eyes and let the wind blow through her hair. Although she was tired, she didn't want that night to end at the same time. It was the best night she ever had. Zelda turned and saw Link pulling Epona and parking her right by the wall. He went back and got Daisuke and then sat next to Zelda. It was late and they were both tired, but it was safer for them to wait out Zelda's side effects and let them pass.

"You feeling any better?" Link asked.

"Sort of." Zelda answered. "The field still looks like it's spinning a little, though."

"Hmm, that's interesting. If they don't wind down soon, I think I might take you back to ranch on Epona and then we can come back and get Daisuke in the morning."

"But won't he run away?"

"If he's loyal, then no, he won't. But who knows? Daisuke has taken a liking to Epona so he might just follow her back to the ranch." Link laughed a little. A gust of wind blew and Link shivered a little. "Getting kind of chilly."

"Here." Zelda held out half of her cloak so Link could have some warmth.

"Nah, I'm good."

"You'll catch a cold and I don't want you going all delirious on me."

Link laughed remembering the day before when they brought her to the ranch. He remembered her being so sick to the point of saying she wanted to have a baby with him. Link smiled at Zelda warmly and scooted closer to her. The two of them sat closely together with half of Zelda's cloak on each of their backs. The cloak itself didn't warm themselves up, but each other's company did a good job. Zelda blushed at how close Link was to her and the idea of them actually sharing her cloak. Link stared up at the pitch black sky that still had plenty of twinkling stars.

"Zelda," Link started to say. "If I tell you something, will you promise not to laugh?"

"I can't guarantee it, but okay." Zelda answered.

"Okay. The truth is…I…" Link turned to make eye contact with her. He found himself lost in Zelda's eyes. Not to mention the tip of his green cap was blowing in the way of his face. He brushed the cap out of his way and cleared his throat. "I…cheated on the bet."

"What?" Zelda asked looking at him funny.

"I cheated. Completely guilty." Link said leaning back.

"How? I mean, it was kind of dumb that you said I lost because the clock said 16:59 instead of 17:00, but…"

"That's where I cheated." Link interrupted her. "I switched all the clocks in the house back by fifteen minutes." He tried not to laugh, but couldn't hold it in.

"Oh! You are evil!" Zelda laughed. "So evil!" Link just hung over laughing his guts out. Zelda picked up a stick and threw it at him.

"Whoa! You really are violent, aren't you, Princess?"

"There's plenty more of where that came from!" Zelda said standing up on the wall. "And you know I will fight."

"Is that a challenge?" Link asked crossing his arms. Zelda just jumped off the wall on the other side of Link. "Hey! I'm not done with you, yet!"

Link, who was a fast runner, caught up to Zelda immediately and wrapped his arms around her. She shrieked when he caught her. Both of them laughed as Link picked Zelda up and spun her around. Zelda broke free of his grasp and ran down to Zora's River where she started splashing Link. He attempted at protecting himself from the cold, wet droplets and failed. Link ran into the river and started splashing Zelda as well. It turned into a splash war.

Zelda stood in the river to catch her breath. Link started walking over to Zelda. She stepped back and found herself tripping and falling into the river becoming soaking wet. Link laughed as Zelda shook out her messy hair. She glared up at him seeing how he was still fairly dry. Link offered his hand to help Zelda up. She grabbed his hand, but instead pulled him into the water right next to her. Zelda laughed as Link started shaking out his now soaking wet and messy hair. He let out a good laugh before he just warmly smiled at Zelda. She returned his smile with one of her own.

They sat in the water within inches away from each other just holding each other's gaze. Link found himself lost as the stars twinkled in Zelda's blue eyes. He could just melt at the sight of her. Holding her gaze, Link put another strand of her hair behind her ear. This time, instead of bringing his hand back, Link ran his hand down Zelda's cheek as she shut her eyes and appreciated the way he caressed her cheek. Zelda opened her eyes and found Link's warm eyes and smile aimed directly right at her. She wanted to take Malon's advice and tell Link her feelings for him. Right now, she thought it was the perfect moment.

"Uh…Link?" Zelda asked.

"Say no more, Zelda." Link said in his soft, angelic voice.

Link tilted Zelda's chin so she was facing him straight on. His hand moved to her cheek and caressed it. Zelda suddenly had the strangest feeling that she had never felt before. Sure, she had a crush on Link, but her crush on him never caused her that strange feeling. She remembered feeling the lump in her throat from when she danced with Link, but that was all she remembered. Zelda knew what she wanted at this moment. And to be honest, even though she didn't know it, Link wanted the same thing. Zelda moved her hand so it was lightly touching Link's cheek. Then, she began to lean in just as she did during the ball when she and Link were out on the balcony. Link also started to lean in and try to meet her in the middle. Just as their lips were about to make contact, Zelda opened her eyes and realized that this was too fast and things needed to slow down.

"Uh…" Zelda quickly pulled away blushing from embarrassment. "Sorry."

"Is something wrong?" Link asked.

"No. Well, maybe, but…I don't know." She stood up from the water. "We should probably get back to the ranch."

"Yeah." Link agreed getting up and walking with her over to where Epona and Daisuke were. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Link. It's not you at all." Zelda tried to assure him. "Really…it's just…it's me. I'm just…going through a hard phase right now."

"Right, I understand." Link smiled at her before mounting Epona. "You okay to ride Daisuke back to the ranch?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling much better now." Zelda answered mounting Daisuke.

The rest of the ride to the ranch was silent and a lot more awkward than it was during the first half of the ride. Link and Zelda made sure to make a silent entrance back to the ranch so that Talon and Malon didn't wake up. Link silently groaned to himself when he realized was time it was, which was almost 4:00. He was going to have to get up in about two hours to get started on the ranch chores. Zelda put Daisuke away in the stable and made sure it was locked for the evening.

Link waited for Zelda right outside the stable. They walked back into the house together. Zelda now found it awkward to walk with Link now for some odd reason. Link and Zelda quietly crept their way up the stairs. Zelda sent an awkward grin at Link before starting in towards Malon's room.

"Zelda?" Link asked softly. She turned around in response. "Sorry about what I did earlier, but, did your _really _enjoy yourself tonight?"

"Yes." Zelda answered truthfully. "It truly was the greatest night of my life. Thank you." She looked down at her feet briefly before looking back at Link. "Well, good night."

"Sweet dreams, Zelda." Link smiled at her.

Then, Link unexpectedly leaned in and left a kiss on Zelda's cheek before making his way into his own room. Zelda just stood there and lightly touched the cheek that Link just kissed. She smiled to herself before going into Malon's room and crawling into bed to have sweet dreams.

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**Author's Note: Okay, I started this chapter at 12:52am. It is now 5:24am as I'm finishing this up! No, it did not take that long! My friend came into the room I'm typing in and we chatted for HOURS! Anyway, what does this have to do with the fanfic? I have no idea, but what I do know is that a) it's time for this chapter's trivia fact, b) I'm tired, and c) I'm hungry.**

**Trivia: Link and Zelda were originally supposed to have their first kiss in this chapter. However, like Zelda, I felt things would be moving too quick in their relationship, so I decided to slow things down a bit.**


	13. Awkward

**Author's Note: Here's…chapter 13! Thanks to all you guys who are reviewing! I love you guys!**

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Chapter 13: Awkward

A couple days had gone by since Zelda's night out with Link. The day after her night out, everything seemed awkward between the two. It seemed like they would make eye contact, wave or smile, and the then move on. Malon and Talon didn't know why they were acting so weird around each other while Zelda and Link had no idea why it seemed so awkward to be around each other. They hardly talked with each other at all that entire day, which was strange since they normally talk for the longest periods of time. Dinner that night was just even more awkward because everyone was silent that night. Zelda went to bed wondering what had happened. She then remembered about how they almost kissed while they were in Zora's River. She began to suspect that it was the kiss that was making it awkward. Zelda groaned thinking maybe she just completely ruined her friendship with Link.

However, the next day, Zelda woke up and everything seemed back to normal between her and Link. She decided to help out with the chores again that day. Link decided it was pointless to argue, she let her in on the work and this time, without a bet. In fact, it seemed to Malon that they got closer during that whole day, which she liked seeing. She always thought Link and Zelda would make a cute couple. Throughout the day, Zelda and Link would flirt with each other many times. Malon also noticed that Link started hanging around Zelda a lot more than he did the first day she was on the ranch. He even helped her out with one of the toughest jobs on the ranch, which is getting the horses back into the stable after their exercise. Link noticed while helping Zelda that she seemed to be doing a better job than she did the first time she did it. As Zelda would pass Link taking the horse back, she'd shoot a glance at him and then continue and he'd do the same thing.

The evening was fun for them. Zelda found a record of the same kind of Celtic music that played at the bar that they went to and played it on the record player. She started to do her Celtic dance. Link, who had seen her dance before, cheered for her as she began moving her feet rapidly. Then, he got up and did the dance with her. He tried to get Malon to try it, but she knew she would be really bad at it. Talon, on the other hand, got up and nailed the dance flawlessly. Link sat back down on the couch and he and Malon cheered for the Celtic dancing duo in front if them. Talon once again finished with a split and caused himself great pain again. Link and Malon rolled their eyes and helped him back up again. What was it with Talon finishing his dances with splits?

"Dad, you have to quit the splits." Malon said.

"I know! I know!" Talon was stubborn anyway and refused to give up the splits. He sat in his favorite chair. "Alright do any of you have a story?"

"Oh! I got one!" Zelda said sitting on the couch next to Link. "Have you heard about the legend of Bloody Mary?"

"No, tell us." Malon answered.

"Okay, Bloody Mary, she lived deep in the forest in a tiny cottage and sold herbal remedies for a living. Folks living in the town nearby called her Bloody Mary, and said she was a witch. None dared cross the old crone for fear that their cows would go dry, their food-stores rot away before winter, their children take sick of fever, or any number of terrible things that an angry witch could do to her neighbors. Then the little girls in the village began to disappear, one by one. No one could find out where they had gone. Grief-stricken families searched the woods, the local buildings, and all the houses and barns, but there was no sign of the missing girls. A few brave souls even went to Bloody Mary's home in the woods to see if the witch had taken the girls, but she denied any knowledge of the disappearances. Still, it was noted that her haggard appearance had changed. She looked younger, more attractive. The neighbors were suspicious, but they could find no proof that the witch had taken their young ones. Then came the night when the daughter of the miller rose from her bed and walked outside, following an enchanted sound no one else could hear. The miller's wife had a toothache and was sitting up in the kitchen treating the tooth with an herbal remedy when her daughter left the house. She screamed for her husband and followed the girl out of the door. The miller came running in his nightshirt. Together, they tried to restrain the girl, but she kept breaking away from them and heading out of town. The desperate cries of the miller and his wife woke the neighbors. They came to assist the frantic couple. Suddenly, a sharp-eyed farmer gave a shout and pointed towards a strange light at the edge of the woods. A few townsmen followed him out into the field and saw Bloody Mary standing beside a large oak tree, holding a magic wand that was pointed towards the miller's house. She was glowing with an unearthly light as she set her evil spell upon the miller's daughter. The townsmen grabbed their guns and their pitchforks and ran toward the witch. When she heard the commotion, Bloody Mary broke off her spell and fled back into the woods. The far-sighted farmer had loaded his gun with silver bullets in case the witch ever came after his daughter. Now he took aim and shot at her. The bullet hit Bloody Mary in the hip and she fell to the ground. The angry townsmen leapt upon her and carried her back into the field, where they built a huge bonfire and burned her at the stake. As she burned, Bloody Mary screamed a curse at the villagers. If anyone mentioned her name aloud before a mirror, she would send her spirit to revenge herself upon them for her terrible death. When she was dead, the villagers went to the house in the wood and found the unmarked graves of the little girls the evil witch had murdered. She had used their blood to make her young again. From that day to this, anyone foolish enough to chant Bloody Mary's name three times before a darkened mirror will summon the vengeful spirit of the witch. It is said that she will tear their bodies to pieces and rip their souls from their mutilated bodies. The souls of these unfortunate ones will burn in torment as Bloody Mary once was burned, and they will be trapped forever in the mirror." Zelda finished.

"In…a mirror?" Malon asked clutching onto a pillow.

"For all eternity."

"I don't know if I'll ever look in a mirror ever again." Link said shivering.

"Well, it's just a story. She doesn't really exist." Zelda said.

"At least as far as we're concerned." Talon added in. He got up and stretched himself out before going out to the kitchen. "Who wants pie?"

"Yes!" Malon said happily. She and Link both hopped off the couch and headed to the kitchen. Zelda started heading upstairs instead of following everyone else into the kitchen.

"Aren't you coming, Zelda?" Link asked.

"No thanks. I'm just gonna hang around upstairs."

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Well, we'll be down here if you need us." Link said going into the kitchen.

Zelda went into Malon's room and fetched the Ocarina of Time. With the ocarina in hand, she walked into Link's room. She felt bad for intruding, but it was the only way to get up onto the roof. It took her a few minutes, but she finally found the little door that leads to the top. Zelda grabbed the ladder and leaned it up against it. Then, she climbed out only to almost drop her ocarina. Clutching is hard against her, Zelda found a level spot on the roof and rested herself on there. The evening view wasn't that pretty that night. It was cloudy and the moon was being covered. Stars couldn't be seen, which bummed Zelda out because she loved it when the evenings were clear.

Looking down at the ocarina, Zelda remembered why she came out here in the first place. She had heard Link playing her lullaby so many times that she decided to try and teach herself how to play it. Zelda was able to master the first few notes, but anything after that was a blank. She played random notes hoping that she would catch which notes are for which part of the melody. It didn't work out quite well. Zelda played the first few notes of her lullaby and then heaved out a long sigh setting the ocarina down. She brought her legs up to her chest and leaned on them.

"Zelda?" Malon asked coming up the ladder. "There you are. We couldn't find you in the house. What're you doing up here?"

"Just…thinking."

"You wanna talk?"

"No, it's okay. It's dumb anyway." Zelda denied Malon's offer.

"Well, okay then." Malon started to climb down, but then climbed back up and sat next to Zelda. "By the way, you never told me how your date with Link went the other night."

"It wasn't a date."

"Well, tell me how it was anyway."

"It was…a lot of fun." Zelda paused and looked up at the cloudy sky. "I had never had so much fun in my entire life."

"Wow. He must've taken you someplace spectacular."

"We went to the Kakariko Milk Bar. Nothing fancy, but it was a lot of fun. I tried a Chateau Romani, and hooked one of Link's friends up with a girl that he liked, and I got to dance to my favorite kind of music. So…yeah, it was _really _a lot of fun. It was funny towards the end because Link's friend, Kafei, got drunk, so we had to carry him back to his house. He would mumble the weirdest things."

"So…then what happened afterwards?" Malon asked.

"Link and I rode our horses back and…well…" Zelda didn't want to remember what happened at the end of the evening.

"What? What happened?"

"We…almost kissed." Zelda blushed.

"Oh, so that's why you guys were acting so weird around each other yesterday." Malon said now understanding everything.

"Yeah, I feel like I kind of…ruined our friendship."

"Oh trust me, you didn't. You and Link were hardly ever apart from each other today. If that kiss ruined your friendship, then Link would've been avoiding you today. He obviously still wants to be your friend and you still want to be his friend, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, maybe you guys should talk about it and maybe…put it behind you guys." Malon suggested. Zelda did want to forget about the kiss, but then again, she really liked Link so she didn't want to at the same time. "I mean, I know you really like him Zelda, but…maybe he just isn't the one for you. I mean, in all honesty, friendships beat romantic relationships."

"I think you're right, Malon." Zelda agreed.

"Is that what you were thinking about up here?"

"Yeah."

"I thought so." Malon got up and brushed off her dress before starting back down the ladder. "If I see Link, I'll send him up, okay?"

"Okay, sounds good."

Zelda picked up her ocarina and decided to keep trying to play her lullaby. She was able to teach herself another few notes. As she kept trying to play, she felt someone put their hand on her shoulder. Zelda turned around and found Link, who was giving her that warm smile that always just about made her melt.

"You're sounding good." He complimented her as he sat next to her.

"It's a beautiful song." Zelda said looking at her ocarina. "I figured I should at least learn to play it since you _did_ write it for me."

"Keep at it and you'll have it mastered in no time."

"Yeah." Zelda looked up at his deep blue eyes. _'Why does he have to have such gorgeous eyes?' _Zelda thought to herself frustratingly. She decided it was now or never and she had to talk to him now. "Link, I want to talk about…what happened…after we left Kakariko."

"Oh. You mean the…" Link paused. "…the kiss?"

"Yeah." Zelda blushed and looked away.

"I'm sorry." Link apologized. "I didn't know what I was thinking. No, that's the thing. I wasn't thinking. I just…the way you…you were so beautiful the way your eyes were sparkling last night." Zelda turned and looked at Link. She could tell he was starting to get nervous about something. "And you still are. I…always thought you were, all these years."

"What do you mean by…'all these years'?" Zelda asked interested.

"Well, I…uh…" Link blushed and wanted to turn away, but couldn't. _'I have to tell her now. I've already opened myself up to it. Just be honest, Link.' _The poor nervous Hylian thought to himself. "To be honest…I've…had a crush on you…for a really long time."

"Really?" Zelda's eyes sparkled.

"Yeah…since maybe when I was…10 years old."

"That long?" Zelda was now shocked. All this time? He had a crush on her and she never even knew it?

"Yeah. But back before I really met you, it was one of those innocent crushes where you know you don't stand a chance with them." Link turned away and looked up at the sky that was now clearing of its clouds. "I remember going into Hyrule Castle Town one time to buy a shield I had been saving up rupees for. As I struggled to carry the shield, which by the way was too big for my smallish 10-year-old body, I happened to look over at where the fabric vendors were and saw you. You were with another lady and you two were looking at different fabrics. I saw you laughing with her as you got tangled up in some fabric. I thought you were the cutest girl in all of Hyrule. You were cute enough to make me drop my shield and forget all about it. I…uh…sort of stalked you for a little while, and then you went back to castle. I felt like I _had _to meet you, so I followed you in, but the guards kicked me out before even get past the first gate. Then, the years passed on, and I realized that as long as I wasn't a prince, you wouldn't pay any attention to me. So, whenever I saw you in the town market, I watched you from afar. There was a time when I was 14 when I almost went up and talked to you, but I chickened out." Zelda couldn't help but laugh.

"That's so cute! I never knew that!"

"Yeah, so that went on for a while, and then I watched you grow to become a beautiful woman. I still felt like you wouldn't even notice me. So, then I went to the archery tournament and saw that jerk try and make a move on you. I entered so I could teach him a lesson…and also…" Link paused and blushed. "I was…also trying to impress you."

"You were?" Zelda asked. "Well, you certainly did. I remember that was the first time I ever saw you. I thought you were…"

"Handsome? Gorgeous? All of the above?" Link jokingly asked leaning back on the roof.

"I thought you were cute. And…you still are."

"Really?" Link asked scooting closer to her.

"Well, don't let it get to your head." Zelda laughed as she stood up on the roof.

"So…you're not mad at me, are you?"

"No. I mean, I'll admit it…I was going to let you kiss me. But…then I just remembered the horrible experience I had with Ganondorf and… I thought that the kiss was just too sudden. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, it's one of those 'had a bad relationship and not ready for a new one yet' sort of thing, right?"

"Something like that."

"Right. I understand." Link said sincerely. "I probably should've thought about that too, but like I said, I wasn't thinking at the time."

"Maybe we could…put it behind us? Say it never happened?" Zelda suggested hoping that she didn't hurt Link's feelings. "I really like you Link, just…not quite in that…sort of way. You're still one of my best friends and…that's just it right there."

As much as Link felt like Zelda was rejecting his feelings for him, he still understood what she was talking about. He really liked Zelda and would rather have a friendship with than not be with her at all. Zelda, on the other hand, was trying to figure out how she truly felt about Link. There was a half of her that said she really liked him as in having a crush on him whereas there was the other half of her that said she only liked him as a close friend. Until she could really figure out her feelings, Zelda settled on just trying to keep her friendship with Link strong. Just as she was starting to think about it, she made contact with Link's deep eyes and warm smile.

"It never happened." Link said. "You, Kafei, and Malon are really the only friends I have. I wouldn't want anything to happen to our friendship."

"Thank you, for understanding, Link." Zelda hugged him as she thanked him. He hugged her back and smiled at her.

"In fact…why don't we do something tomorrow together. Just as friends."

"Really? Like what?" Zelda asked pulling away.

"Well, I happen to be a swordsman who hasn't trained in forever and I noticed you have a sword as well. Maybe I can teach you a few things?"

"Sure! I'd love that!" Zelda answered excitedly. She was a decent fighter with her sword, but really wanted to learn some cool techniques. "By the way, you do have a way with impressing women." Zelda said before climbing down the ladder.

"You haven't changed a bit Zelda. No you haven't." Link said softly to himself.

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**Author's Note: Okay, so this chapter was actually supposed to have a whole different ending! But, after realizing how long this first part was, I figured I'd end here and continue in the next one, which is…holy crap, chapter 14? Wow, already moving along that quickly. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, and now…you know the routine, enjoy the trivia fact!**

**Trivia: The story of Bloody Mary actually really scares the living daylights out me! I read through the whole thing and ended up scaring myself! Not to mention, I just read the scariest true story about Majora's Mask while taking a break from writing this! So…yeah. Link and Zelda's little romantic scene was **_**very **_**soothing for me at the end. **


	14. Ambush

**Author's Note: Yay! Chapter 14! Thanks to all my reviewers! It's hard to believe I'm already working on chapter 14! And writing chapter 15 as this chapter uploads to the doc manager. You guys should check out my new Zelda fic Watching Over You! It's going to be a ZeLink fanfic, so I know you guys will like it! The only warning is that it's more adult than my fanfics usually are. Still, check it out and leave a review please! Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing!**

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Chapter 14: Ambush

The next day, Zelda got up early as well as Link. Talon was nice enough to let Link skip his chores for that day because of how hard he already worked. The plan was to spend the whole day in the western field of Hyrule. Link found it a few years back and has used to it train whenever he had the time to. Now that the time had come, Link was finally able to dust off his Hylian shield that had been gathering dust for about three months. He equipped the Hylian sword along with his shield of the same name and took a heaved a sigh of satisfaction that he still had the strength to carry both his sword and shield.

Zelda wore her combat outfit as always and armed herself with her special sword that she got as a gift. She normally wore her hair down, but decided to pull it into a ponytail and braid it since she was going to be fighting and didn't want to accidentally kill Link. Zelda was never really used to doing her own hair, so it took her a little while to figure out how to do it. Link called up to Malon's room from outside asking if she was going to be ready soon. She called back down telling him to be patient. Anyone could tell that Link was looking forward to this. If there was anything he had always wanted to do, it was teach someone sword techniques.

After about ten minutes of fighting the hair, Zelda finally got it done. She took a deep breath and held a hand to her sword. Then, she walked over to the stable and got Daisuke out. Link had been ready for a while, so he was a little bored just waiting. Still, a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do, even if it means _having _to do their hair like Zelda had to do today. Zelda mounted Daisuke and started heading out of the ranch. Link and Epona followed behind.

Link and Epona led Zelda to what was probably the most peaceful looking part of the field. It was wide and open with no towns or villages around. There were plenty of flower beds around. The grass and flowers were soft enough that one who lay down on the ground could just fall asleep on it. Zelda hopped off of Daisuke and landed with a soft thud. She found a nice shady spot under a tree and began to stretch her hamstrings. Zelda had done some sword training a few years back, so she knew how to warm up and such. Link threw his sword and shield onto the ground and stretched his upper body.

Once Zelda was all finished stretching, she grabbed her sword and equipped it to her belt that had a Triforce buckle. Link could see that she was finished and he grabbed his sword as well. As silly as it was, Link made Zelda sit down in front of him almost as if she were an actual student of his.

"Is that _really _necessary?" Zelda asked.

"Yes, young pupil. Now, on the ground." Link said pointing to the ground. Zelda sighed and sat in front of him. "See? That's not so hard is it?"

"This is kind of silly. I'm not even technically your student."

"I am teaching you sword techniques, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then that makes _me _the teacher and _you _the student. Now, you ready for your first lesson." Link asked pulling out his sword.

"Yes, _teacher_!" Zelda answered sarcastically. Link glared at her. "But in all seriousness, I am ready."

Link showed Zelda each of his techniques. The first he taught Zelda was a spin attack. It was really easy for her to learn, but she couldn't seem to get her sword charged enough to strike at full power. Link just told her not to worry about charging the sword and they'd cover that later on in the day. Then, he taught her the final blow. Zelda liked this one. She got to stab her sword into the ground multiple times thanks to her practices. This one was the easiest for her to master. Then Link taught Zelda the back slice. This one was tricky for her to get, but Zelda was thrilled once she mastered it.

"You've done well, Zelda." Link complimented her.

"I still can't seem to get my sword charged though."

"Hey, don't worry about that. We'll try and work on that later. For now, I have to do my own personal training. Why don't you take a rest?"

"Okay, sounds good." Zelda agreed.

Zelda stretched herself out and then perched herself underneath the same tree as earlier and begin to rest. She leaned against the tree and watched as Link crossed over to another side of the field. Link grabbed his shield and started randomly swiping his sword in some horizontal and vertical slices. Zelda lay down all the way on the ground so that she was looking up at the sky. As much as was enjoying the sunny day of just laying back and relaxing, she wanted to keep practicing her sword techniques.

As Zelda rolled over to get up off the ground, she saw some pods coming from the tree above her. She grabbed one and looked in the pod only find multi-colored beans, magic beans. Zelda suddenly got an idea. She started picking many of the magic bean pods and then set them down in front of her under the tree. There was a thread coming off her shirt. She took the thread and pulled at it until the decided it was long enough. Using her sword, Zelda snipped the thread and then found a small twig. Using the twig, she poked holes in each of the magic beans and then strung the threat through the beans' holes. Zelda continued this until each one of the beans was through the thread.

Link returned over to Zelda after a while. She hid the magic beans in her travel bag as Link lay down on the grass under the tree. He took a deep breath while reaching for he canteen of water and taking a large drink from. Zelda noticed that he had taken off all but the bottom of his tunic. She turned away so he wouldn't see her blushed at his shirtless appearance. She couldn't help but admire how great of shape he was in. At least she knew if anyone attacked her, she'd be safe with him.

"Wow, I need to train more." Link said wiping his forehead. He looked over at Zelda. "Enjoying the break?"

"Yeah. It's a nice day today."

"Well, I brought food, so why don't we eat some of that and then we'll continue our training." Link suggested.

"Yes, sir." Zelda said smiling. "Oh! But first…" She peeked over next to her at the necklace of magic beans that she made during the break. "I'd like to…give you something."

"Like a kiss, maybe?" Link jokingly asked putting the torso of his tunic back on.

"In your dreams." Zelda laughed. "But, first you have to close your eyes."

"Wow, I like this already."

"I already told you I'm not giving you a kiss."

Link shut his eyes anyway. After his eyes were shut, which helped Zelda a lot because they didn't distract her, Zelda put the magic bean necklace around his neck. Link could tell that it was some sort of necklace, but he had no clue what it exactly was until he opened his eyes and saw what it was made of. It was made of red, blue, and yellow magic beans all strung around in a circle. Link played with it for a little bit before looking back at Zelda briefly and then back at the necklace.

"Did you make this?" Link asked.

"Y-yeah." Zelda said blushing. "I had nothing to do during my break, so I found a bunch of magic beans and just made that."

"Wow. It's really pretty. What's it for?"

"Uh…" Zelda didn't think of a reason why she gave it to him. She just wanted to. "Well…I figured it could be like a little friendship charm or something. You know, like…in 20 years, we'll look at this thing and remember our friendship."

"That's cool, Zelda." Link said as he looked passionately into Zelda's eyes. _'I know that she knows I've had a crush on her, but that was only an innocent crush. Now's the time. I have to tell her I really like her. There's nothing that can interrupt me, now. If I don't tell her now, she'll never know. I feel it in my gut.' _Link thought to himself. "Zelda…"

"Link?"

"Listen…remember when we…"

"SEIYAHH!"

Both Link and Zelda looked I front of them and saw a tan-skinned woman with bright, red hair tied up in a high ponytail jump right in front of them. She was armed with two swords and wore a green risqué thief outfit. Link grabbed his sword and shield and got in front of Zelda. He knew exactly who he was up against since this wasn't first time he was going after this particular kind of enemy.

"Who are you?" Zelda asked. The enemy just laughed.

"She's a Gerudo thief." Link looked back at Zelda. "Stay down. These women can get dangerous."

With that, Link lunged at the Gerudo thief with a vertical slash. The Gerudo thief smoothly dodged Link's attack and charged at him. He defended with is shield and then sliced the thief in the side with his sword. The Gerudo thief fell to the ground in pain. Link glared her down as she looked at the blood that dripped out of her cut. Her hand that had blood on it clenched into a fist. She stared up at Link with devil's eyes and Link got ready to fight her again if she were to fight again. Instead of fighting again, she held up her bloody fist and look up to the sky.

"SEIYAHH!" She cried out, but much louder.

"What the-?" Zelda asked.

Before Link could answer, about three other Gerudo thieves jumped from out of nowhere and surrounded Link and Zelda. Luckily, Zelda had her sword equipped. She assumed that she was going to have to fight. She drew out her sword and held it out ready to fight. Link looked at her in shock. Zelda smiled and winked at him. He returned her smile and then focused once again.

"Link, you take the front ones, I'll take these two."

"Got it! Don't forget the techniques I taught you."

Zelda charged forward with her sword and started swinging at them. It ended up being a tougher battle than she thought. These women she was fighting were really tough. Not to mention it was two against one, so Zelda had a disadvantage. Link wasn't doing any better either, but at least he had a shield for defense. To defend herself, Zelda would either have to use her sword, jump, duck, or roll. Still, she was actually enjoying her first real battle. Zelda remembered the spin attack that Link taught her. She couldn't get her sword charge, but she had enough agility that she could quickly execute the spin attack and dodge before any of them could attack her.

One of the Gerudos Zelda fought kneeled down in pain while the other one jumped out of the way and came up behind Zelda. The thief grabbed Zelda by her neck and abdomen. Zelda struggled to escape her grasp, but the thief that she sliced held onto her legs as the two women carried her away. Link didn't notice the princess was getting kidnapped on account he was busy trying to fight off two Gerudo thieves. Both of the women, who were in combat positions panting heavily from exhaustion faced Link, who too was getting tired. He had a couple cuts on his arm from behind slashed by the thieves. One of the thieves looked past Link and had a snaky grin on her face.

"We have no use for you anymore, boy." She growled. "We've got what we want."

"What?" Link looked back and saw the two Gerudo thieves carrying a struggling Zelda over in a different direction.

"Link!" Zelda shouted a muffled cry.

"Zelda!" Link shouted as he charged over at the Gerudo thieves that were carrying Zelda away.

"I don't think so!" The two thieves pounced on Link and nailed him to the ground.

"You're not going anywhere, handsome." One of them seductively said.

"Zelda!" Link struggled to get off the ground. "No…Zelda!"

"Aw, isn't that cute?" One thief said to the other.

"I know. Poor kid, he's trying to play 'hero' here."

"Shut up!" Link shouted at him.

"Say pretty please and just _maybe _we'll let you up."

"Kiss my ass!"

Link knocked them off of him and he stood up and began to charge at them. The two thieves began to fight with Link again. He charged his sword and performed a spin attack that knocked the thieves back. The spin attack just about killed one of the thieves, but the other one refused to admit defeat. Now, one on one, Link fought the Gerudo thief. She slashed Link across the top of his shoulder. He cried out in pain, but was able to defend himself with his shield just in time and to finish this one off with a stab in the stomach. After stabbing her, Link yanked out the sword and she fell down to the ground coughing out blood. He watched her die and saw the injured Gerudo flee.

"Hmph!" Link said kicking some dirt on the dead Gerudo. "That'll teach them not to go after the princess." He then realized that it was too quiet. "Wait! The princess!" Link turned around and saw that the two thieves that had Zelda had fled. "Zelda!"

Link hurried around the area where the Gerudo thieves ambushed him and Zelda. He searched around seeing if the Gerudo thieves were hidden nearby. No Gerudo thieves. The place was empty except for the presence of Link, Epona, and Daisuke. Link couldn't believe that he lost Zelda. These were Gerudo thieves that kidnapped her who could do Din knows what to her. Link groaned out of frustration and pain from his cuts. Then, he heard Epona neigh.

"What is it, girl?" He asked as he approached the horse. She neighed over in the direction she was facing. Link looked with her and saw the route that led to Gerudo Valley. "Oh no…" He groaned. Link put his sword and shield back behind him and then mounted Epona. He had her going at a fast gallop as they headed off to the dangerous valley of the most dangerous race in Hyrule.

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**Author's Note: Oh crap! Zelda's been kidnapped! Will Link get her back (like he's supposed to!)? Or is he screwed for losing the princess? Find out on the next episode! But now…it's trivia time!**

**Trivia: Originally, Link was supposed to be the one kidnapped by the Gerudos and Zelda was supposed to rescue him, but due to future plans I have for this fanfic, Zelda ended up being the kidnapped one. Sorry, Zelda.**

**Zelda: *glares* Why do I **_**always **_**have to get kidnapped? I mean, it **_**is **_**called The Legend of Zelda! **

**Me: Exactly, so you have to be the one getting kidnapped. If Link was the one getting kidnapped, then maybe Nintendo would've called it The Legend of Link. Anyway, review please! You guys rock!**


	15. Gerudo Fortress

**Author's Note: Okay, here's chapter 15! And just as this is uploading! I'm working on chapter 16! That's right peeps! I'm actually NOT getting writer's block for once! Although…I did have a small case of writer's block with this one. Anyway, enjoy and don't forget to check out my other ZeLink fanfic "Watching Over You"! It only has one chapter, but I'm working on chapter two of that as well!**

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Chapter 15: Gerudo Fortress

"Get in there and stay in there!"

Zelda was thrown into one of the prison cells of the fortress at Gerudo Valley. The Gerudo thieves locked her in and then started laughing maniacally. How could Zelda let this happen? Why did this happen? Why would these Gerudo capture Zelda? All she ever did was respect the Gerudo and this is how she gets treated? Zelda rubbed her arm where it hit the wall after being thrown in. Then, she got up and walked over to the iron bars and glared through at the snickering Gerudo.

"Whaddaya know, girls! Looks like this little princess here still thinks that her dear old hero is gonna rescue her!" One of them broke out into laugher.

"I know! He couldn't even take out four of us! Imagine what'll happen to him once he tried to face ALL of us here at the fortress!" Another one laughed.

"Stop!" Zelda yelled. "You'd better not hurt him!"

"And if we do?"

"If you do…I'll have you all banished once I return to Hyrule Castle."

"Go ahead." The third thief scoffed.

"Yeah, we won't need this stupid place once we have our rupees."

"Rupees?" Zelda asked. She thought for a moment and began to realize what was going on. "Wait a minute…does this have anything to do with the reward offered for returning me to Hyrule Castle?"

"Wow…the little blonde girl is finally catching on." The leader of the group said sarcastically as she entered the prison.

"Hey! I may be blonde, but I'm NOT stupid!"

"Shut up!" The leader drew her sword and held it up to Zelda's neck. "You may be the princess of Hyrule, but you have no power against all of us."

"I will once I become queen."

The leader of the thieves drew back her sword and put it away. She joined the other three thieves as they sat around a table that had pouched loaded with rupees. Zelda sighed as she went and sat in the corner of her prison cell. What if the thieves were right? What if Link couldn't handle all of the Gerudo thieves? What if he gets killed? She'd be at fault. Zelda pulled her legs up to her chest and she rested her head on them. Now she knew what it was like for all of those commoners to be placed in the dungeon. Some of them were in the dungeon for stupid reasons such as accidentally walking off with food without paying for it. Zelda thought to herself as she sat in the cell that things were going to change if she became queen.

Zelda saw a Gerudo come down into the prison. She wasn't dressed like the other thieves. Instead, she had a dark purple outfit and carried a spear. Since the Gerudo had a spear, Zelda assumed that she was a guard. The guard walked over to where the thieves were conversing and got their attention. To Zelda, the guard looked a little concerned. This got her interested. She stood up and walked over to the cell bars to try and listen in on there conversation. Fortunately for her, the Gerudo weren't smart about talking quietly in their "secret" conversations.

"What's going on?" The thieves' leader asked firmly.

"We have an intruder in Gerudo Valley."

"What? Who?"

"We don't know." The guard answered. "From our viewpoint high above, he looked like a young kid."

'_A young kid?' _Zelda thought to herself. _'That can't be Link. Can it?"_

"A young kid? Interesting." The leader said thinking out loud. "Tell me what you know about this young kid."

"I only know of his appearance. He bears a green tunic and was riding a reddish-brown colored horse with a white mane over the bridge."

"No! Link!" Zelda gasped. The leader and the guard looked over at Zelda.

"So…the princess knows this intruder, huh?" The guard asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, she does." The leader snickered taunting Zelda. "Looks like you'll have to double up on security."

"No!" Zelda cried. "Please! Don't!"

"Double up on security." The guard was given an order by the leader. "I want that boy brought here _alive_." She drew her sword. "I want to kill him myself."

"Yes ma'am!"

The guard left the prison leaving the thieves and Zelda all by themselves again. The thieves' leader snickered at Zelda before returning to her seat over with the rest of the thieves. Zelda's eyes began to water at the possibility that the guards might ignore the order and just kill Link right there. She looked out the cell window hoping to see him. There was no sight of him yet. Zelda began to sob softly as she hid her teary eyes in her legs. She looked up and out the window once again.

"Link…please be careful."

Link and Epona crossed the bridge that led to the Gerudo's Fortress at full speed. He dismounted Epona and left her nearby an empty tent knowing the dangers that awaited him at the Gerudo Fortress. Link courageously began his quest to rescue Zelda with his sword, shield, and boomerang armed. As he took a good look at the fortress, he saw that there were many Gerudo guards wandering about making sure that nobody intruded upon their fortress. To Link, it seemed that there were more guards than there should've been. It was almost like they knew he was coming.

Ignoring the fact that the fortress had super tight security, Link started sneaking his way around the fortress. There were enough corners for him to hid under. Thanks to him having his boomerang, Link was able to stun and knock out any guards that were nearby. This made sneaking around a lot easier for him. Unfortunately, he honestly had no idea where they were keeping Zelda. Link was about to cross a large area when he saw some guards walking in his direction. He hid behind a corner and could overhear them and their conversation.

"So, what does this kid look like?" One guard asked.

"Doesn't matter. If the kid isn't a Gerudo, we'll take them down." The other one said.

"But isn't this kid trying to rescue the prisoner?"

"You mean the princess?"

"Well, she's the only prisoner we've had in a long time. Anyway, if this kid has the guts to trespass in order to save the princess, he may be tough."

"Zelda's in the prison." Link softly said to himself. He watched as the guards turned around and began to walk in the other direction. He took out his boomerang and shot it at the guards. The boomerang smacked and hit both guards in the head knocking them both out. "Hmph, maybe next time you'll think about who you decide to arrest." Link scoffed as he walked past the knocked out guards.

"Maybe next time you should think about where you're intruding!"

Link turned around and saw a guard jolt her spear at him. He dodged the spear and drew his sword. This was a bad situation to be in. Either he could kill the guard and have backup come and kill him, or he could try and ditch the guard and have backup come and arrest him. Either way, he was screwed. Link looked up and saw an iron bar above him. Just as the guard jabbed her spear at him, he jumped up and grabbed the iron bar just barely dodging the spear. Swinging back and forth, Link knocked the guard right out and hopped onto the platform that the iron bar was underneath. He looked behind him and saw a few more guards coming his way. The boomerang was thrown and it knocked out all three of them.

The guards happened to land in front of a doorway. Link looked and saw that it led into a prison. He went inside and navigated the complex prison. As he was about to barge straight in, he saw that there were guards there. Link attempted to knock them out with the boomerang, but missed. This time around, he was going to have to sneak around them. They were guarding a prison cell. He assumed that they had Zelda in the cell, so instead of sneaking around, he decided to barge right in and fight the guards. Link used his sword and immediately defeated the guards in an easy two against one fight. After the guards were killed, he looked into the cell and saw that it was empty.

'_Damn…' _Link thought to himself as he kicked the bars on the cell. He made his way up the hall and up towards the next part of the prison. _'Hang in there Zelda, I'm on my way.'_

Zelda, who was snoozing, woke up as soon as she heard a loud bang from close by. The thieves, who were entertaining themselves in a card game also heard it. The leader got up and drew her sword in addition to ordering her band to draw their swords as well. Zelda got up and got close to the bars trying to see if there was anybody else coming. From one of the halls that led to the different parts of the prison came a guard. She had a bloody arm and the side of her head was cut. Zelda was shocked to see she was alive. The leader of thieves walked up to the guard.

"What happened to you?" She asked.

"Ma'am! It's the kid! He…got inside!" The guard replied out of horror.

"That can't be!"

"He must be better than we thought." One of the thieves mentioned.

"Shut up!" The leader hissed. She looked back at the guard. "If you guys can't handle him, fine! We'll get rid of him ourselves!"

"Wait! Please! Don't hurt him!" Zelda yelled to the thieves. The thieves ignored her and rushed out of the prison. "No…Link…" She sat back down in the corner and began to tear up. "This is all my fault. Ugh! This wouldn't have happened if I didn't run away! Man…why did I have to run away from Hyrule Castle in the first place?"

"Because you wanted to follow your heart."

Zelda's heart jumped as she heard the person that answered the question for her. She looked up and saw Link leaning against the wall. She jumped up and ran to the cell door. Link met her there. The two of them shared a warm smile with each other before Zelda reached her hand and locked it with Link's. Link gazed into her eyes and blushed.

"I was so worried." Zelda said.

"I know. That's why I hurried." Link tightened the grip with Zelda's hand. "But I can see that you're okay."

"Yeah. But not for long. These Gerudo are planning to return me to Hyrule Castle so they can get their hands on the reward."

"Okay. Do you know if they had the keys?"

"Actually, they're hanging up right there on the wall." Zelda pointed out.

"Sweet!" Link grabbed the keys and began testing out each one until he found the right one. "These Gerudo are really stupid to leave their keys lying around."

"Link! Watch out!" Zelda cried out.

Link looked behind him and saw the Gerudo thief leader as she swiped her sword at him. He dodged her, but didn't make it out without a scratch. Link felt the scratch on his side and cried out in pain. He felt the slice and saw blood on his hand. As the Gerudo lunged at him again, Link drew his sword and clashed with her. She snickered before sneaking behind him and almost stabbed him in the back. Link dodged her jab and swung his sword at her. She blocked with her sword as the two clashed swords again.

"Have you come back only to be killed?" The Gerudo hissed.

"You wish." Link glared.

As Zelda watched Link and the Gerudo battle it out, she saw that the keys were in the lock. She reached her arm out and started playing with the key hoping to unlock the door and help Link out. The Gerudo saw Zelda playing with the keys and swung her sword at Zelda's arm. She moved her arm back into the cell swiftly. She didn't lose her arm thankfully, but the sword still got her and left a large slash on it. Zelda held her arm in pain as she watched the blood drizzle down from it. Ignoring the fact that she was losing blood rapidly, Zelda unlocked herself free out of the cell. Link threw Zelda's sword, which he carried over to the fortress, and she caught it ready to battle. He shouted out a battle cry as he lunged forward and started attacking the Gerudo once more. They clashed swords once again. Zelda leaped forward and attacked the Gerudo with a vertical slash. It got her in the back and she cried out in pain.

"You attack Zelda again, and it'll be MUCH worse." Link gritted his teeth.

"You mean like THIS?" The Gerudo asked as she whipped around and slash Zelda across the stomach with her sword. Zelda clutched her stomach and fell down to the ground in pain. The Gerudo stood above Zelda and snickered at the fallen princess. "And here you, the princess of Hyrule, have the guts to tell me that _you _have _power_?"

"You…will…regret this!" Zelda faintly said as she looked at the blood that drizzled out from her stomach.

"You in _what _army? You're all alone." The Gerudo snickered before turning back to Link and getting stabbed in the stomach by him. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground after Link yanked his sword back out.

"She's not alone." Link said firmly. "I'll always be there for her, no matter what."

"Link…" Zelda softly said as her eyes started to tear up.

"Kid…you…haven't won…yet."

The Gerudo thief used up her last breath and died at Link's feet. As she saw the Gerudo thief die, Zelda shut her eyes briefly and lay down on the ground. Link dropped his sword and rushed over to Zelda, who was moaning in pain and holding her stomach. He picked her up and leaned her up against the wall. Her vision became blurry again, but she could clearly tell that Link was holding her close to him. Zelda moved her hand until it was resting on Link's.

"Link…we won." She softly said as she smiled up at him.

"Zelda! Why didn't you stay in the cell?" Link asked concerned. "Why did you allow yourself to get hurt?"

"It's okay…you rescued me, didn't you? It's least I can do for you." Zelda moved her hand up to Link's cheek and caressed it. "The potion…"

"What?"

"The red potion…it's attached to my belt…" Zelda's hand fell from Link's cheek and onto the ground as she passed out.

"No…I won't let you die, Zelda!" Link said as he grabbed the potion from her belt. He held her up and then poured the potion into her mouth. He waited a moment before her eyes cracked open again. Link breathed a sigh of relief as she moved her hand to her head and sat up.

"Link?"

"I'm right here, Zelda." Link warmly smiled as he locked his hand with Zelda's. She looked down and saw that the slice on her stomach had healed right up and so did the slice on her arm.

"Link, I'm healed…"

"It was the potion."

"We're alive…" Zelda suddenly embraced Link. She couldn't believe they were both alive after that terrible ambush. "We're alive, Link!"

Link smiled at Zelda and then got what he wasn't expecting. Zelda unexpectedly leaned in and kissed him. He couldn't help but just sit there on the ground in shock. Did the princess just kiss him? She, the one who turned away a kiss a few nights before, was actually giving him a kiss? He didn't believe it. Zelda pulled away and realized what she had done. Embarrassed, she quickly turned away and blushed like crazy.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking!" Zelda quickly said.

Ignoring her apology, Link turned Zelda around so she was facing him. He gazed deeply into her eyes before he began leaning in and making his move. Zelda sat there waiting for Link to finish his move. As she sat there, she felt like she wanted to be apart of this. Zelda shut her eyes and began to lean in towards Link as well. Just as their lips were about to touch, Zelda opened her eyes and saw some Gerudo guards running towards them from outside.

"Link!" She cried out. Link looked behind him and saw that they were now surrounded by numerous Gerudo guards.

"Zelda…I think they've got backup."

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**Author's Note: Yay! Chapter 15 is done! Chapter 16 is going to be AMAZING! I can tell you that! You'll LOVE chapter 16! Anyway, here's your trivia fact for this chapter!**

**Trivia: Zelda was originally supposed to escape the prison cell and meet up with Link outside the fortress somewhere, but while writing, I came up with a more romantic scene for this, so…yeah.**


	16. Escape

**Author's Note: Woot! Yes! Chapter 16! I LOVE this chapter and you all will most definitely love it too!**

**Link: Yeah! Because it's the chapter where I get to…**

**Me: SILENCE! (casts spell)**

**Link: *mute***

**Me: And that's why Nintendo made Link a mute character. He'd just give everything away.**

**Link: *glares and pulls out Master Sword***

**Me: O-kay. Well, anyway, enjoy this amazing chapter while I go kick Link's ass!**

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Chapter 16: Escape

"Well, this is just great! How are we supposed to escape now?" Zelda asked frustrated as she and Link found themselves cornered by multiple Gerudo thieves.

A Gerudo guard snickered. "You and your precious boyfriend won't be escaping any time soon, Princess."

"Do rupees really mean _that _much to you?" Link asked angrily.

"What do you know, kid? You're just a _peasant_!" A guard spat in his face.

Within seconds, Zelda tackled the guard to the ground and started pounding the guard's face to the ground. Link, at first, was shocked, but snapped out of it once he saw the guards start taking Zelda away from both him and the guard. He charged forward with his sword, but got tackled by a few guard knocking him to the ground. Link and Zelda struggled to stay together, but failed to do so. The guards decided then that the two would behold their sentences at that moment, which was torture that was worse than getting your legs smashed by a Goron.

Once the guards got Link and Zelda out of the hideout, four of them started taking Link to one side of the fortress and four of them started taking Zelda to the other side. Link struggled and was eventually able to grab a piece of grass he saw after freeing one of his arms. Zelda smiled when she recognized the song he played. From below a hill came a galloping Epona, feet pounding against the dirty ground creating dust clouds behind her. The guards turned their attention to the horse and began charging at her.

Link and Zelda, who were free from the guards' clutches, watched Epona as she stood still waiting for the guards. Just as the guards were about to strike her, she raised her hooves and started knocking the guards away one by one. The ones that got hit in the head were knocked out and the ones who got hit in the stomach got back up and charged back at Epona hoping to get her this time. Epona kicked them in the front, kicked them in the back, smacked them with her head, and even bit some ears practically ripping them off. Zelda was amused at how much of a fighter this horse was while Link was enjoying the show from their position.

After the last guard was knocked out, Epona tapped her with her hoof and then walked over to Link and Zelda. Both of them praised the horse for her courage and strength. Epona nuzzled Zelda and then licked Link on his face. Feeling that they could officially leave the fortress without a worry, Link and Zelda mounted Epona only to see an arrow fly right past them. They both looked behind and saw some Gerudo guards firing arrows at them.

"Is there anything they _don't _haven planned?" Zelda asked annoyed.

"I don't know." Link answered. He handed Zelda his shield. "Here, shield yourself. You're in more danger than I am."

"But…"

"Just trust me, I'll be fine."

"Okay."

Zelda did as she was told and hid herself underneath the shield. Link rode Epona and got her to go as fast as her legs could go. After leaving the fortress, they ended up at the valley. There were some guards from above firing arrows at them as well. Epona got spooked when a fire arrow landed right in front of her. She reared nearly knocking Zelda off of her. Zelda, who was halfway off of Epona's back, held onto the saddle for her dear life as they continued to gallop their way over to the bridge that would lead them back to Hyrule Field.

Just as they were about to reach the bridge, some guards jumped from above in front of them blocking their way. Epona made a sharp turn to go back the way they came. Because of how sharp the turn was, Zelda lost her grip and was knocked off. She just happened to be knocked off next to a cliff that towered over a river. She started falling over the cliff until Link noticed. He jumped off Epona and after Zelda. They both fell enough that he was able to hold onto the edge of the cliff with one hand and hold Zelda by the hand with his other.

"Hold on Zelda, I got you." Link panted.

"How are we gonna get back up?" Zelda asked.

"I don't know." Link felt a tug on his sleeve and looked to see Epona trying to pull him up. "Epona! Good girl, Epona!" As the horse continued to pull on her rider's clothes, Link looked behind her and saw a few Gerudo get their arrows ready. "Epona! Move!"

Epona did as she was ordered and let go of Link's sleeve smoothly dodging the arrows. The good thing was that Epona survived the arrows and began to gallop across the bridge back over to Hyrule. The bad thing was that Link was no longer holding onto the edge of the cliff. He and Zelda both fell from the towering cliff and into the river, the ice cold water sending chills through their bloodstream. The currents that they tried to swim against winded them out. Zelda held onto a rock and Link held onto one that was next to hers.

"I hope Epona's okay." Zelda said taking a deep breath.

"Me too. We'll have to see once we get back to Hyrule Field."

"So, now what? We can't stay in here all day. We'll get hypothermia by the time nightfall hits."

Link shut his eyes thinking for a moment. "Wait, I remember Talon saying once that the water that flows into Lake Hylia comes from Gerudo Valley. If my assumptions are correct, then all we have to do is swim with the currents and they'll take us to Lake Hylia."

"Sounds great, but what about Epona?" Zelda asked.

"She's a strong horse. She'll be okay." Link said holding his hand out to Zelda. "These currents are strong, if they were to fork out into different directions at all, we can't afford to be separated."

"Right."

Zelda gripped Link's hand tightly, which would've sent chills down her spine if the water wasn't so cold. The two of them let go of the rocks and allowed the strong currents to carry them away from the treachery that was Gerudo Valley. If there was one reason for Zelda to go back to Hyrule Castle, it would be to do something about the Gerudo and teach them a lesson.

Just as Link suspected, the river did fork out into two different directions and just as he assumed, one of the directions went to Lake Hylia. They fell down a small waterfall and found themselves in the blue lake that was Hylia. It sparkled in the evening's full moonlight. Zelda heaved a sigh of relief as she took in the sight of moon and stars that reflected on the lake's slightly warmer water. Link laughed out of relief and fell onto his back. He started floating about, but immediately stopped when the chill of the evening's wind sent shivers through his bloodstream.

"It's quite chilly for a spring evening." Link pointed out.

Zelda dunk herself under water and then came back out. "Well, we've only been traveling down a river on a windy night for so long." She and Link shared a brief laugh. "Well… um…" Zelda said looking down. Link looked at her curiously. "I guess we should…get back to the ranch. Talon and Malon must be worried about us."

"Yeah." Link agreed.

Zelda turned around and started walking back to shore. Link watched her and decided that now was the moment. If he didn't do it now, then chances are he'll never get it done or he'll do it at the wrong moment. Link started following Zelda at a quicker pace than she was moving.

"Zelda," Link said as he grabbed her hand.

Zelda looked back at him. "Link?"

Link stared at Zelda for a few seconds. Then, he unexpectedly started to lean in towards her just as he did a few nights before after they had their fun night at Kakariko Zelda followed her immediate instincts and backed away from him. Link looked at her confused.

"What's wrong?"

"Please…no more." Zelda pleaded softly as she turned her back away from Link. "No more of this. I can't….I can't do it."

"You mean you can't kiss?" Link asked. "But…earlier, you just-"

"No, it's not about the kiss at all."

Link got closer to Zelda and put his arms on her shoulders. "Then, what is it?"

"I just…" Zelda paused. "I have to go!"

Zelda broke free from Link's grasp and started jogging in the shallow waters of Lake Hylia. Tears fell from her eyes and dripped into the lake making tiny ripples around the splashes that her body created.

"_This is just…it's so stupid! Why am I torturing myself with this?" _Zelda cried out in her mind.

Out of breath, Zelda leaned against a wall and breathed heavily trying to swallow the lump in her throat that she let her emotions create. As Zelda caught her breath, she heard the sound of splashes behind her. She looked behind and saw Link. He gazed at her sincerely and all she could do was get lost in his gaze. Those eyes, the ones that made the cold water feel like a hot spring.

"Zelda, what's wrong?" Link asked stepping closer to Zelda. She just backed away from him keeping his gaze and not saying a word. "Zelda…"

Covering her teary eyes, Zelda turned away from Link again. "I just can't, Link…"

"You can't _what?_"

"I can't stay here anymore!" Zelda cried.

Link looked at Zelda confused. "What?"

"I have to go! I have to leave Hyrule!"

"No, you don't. You're still welcome at our house." Link said softly.

"You don't understand. I _have _to leave!"

"Why?"

"Just…because! I'm losing my mind and my heart to some stupid infatuation I have with you!" Zelda unexpectedly blurted out.

"What?"

Zelda gasped when she realized what she said. Link and Zelda held a shocked gaze with each other until she turned around and started running away.

"Nothing! Just…let me go!"

"Zelda!"

Link reached out and grabbed her hand and pulled her back. He pulled her into a tight hug and she began crying into his chest. Link only did what he could do. He held her close to him and stroked the back of her hair. Zelda pulled back away from him and looked back at him now feeling the water turn from cold as ice to warm as a hot spring.

"Link…I'm sorry." Zelda apologized. "I just…I'm so confused."

"What're you confused about?"

"Everything. Like what I want, what I need, and…oh! I just can't go through with this…this…this _stupid_ crush!"

"Crush?" Link asked.

"I can't stay with you anymore, Link." Zelda said gazing into his eyes. "It's a crush that'll just end up with both of us getting hurt."

"Hurt?"

Link was speechless. He didn't know what to say. Zelda just stared into his eyes waiting for him to say something. Nothing came out. All he could do was move closer to her. Zelda scanned Link as he moved close enough to the point where their bodies almost touched. His soft, angelic voice said the princess's name again. She looked up and didn't say anything. Link put his hands on Zelda's shoulders and sent a warm smile in her direction. All Zelda could do was stare. She was pretty sure what was coming.

"Link?" Zelda asked.

"I promise…" Link said softly. "I promise…I will _never _hurt you."

Zelda's assumption was correct. Link moved one of his hands to the back of her neck and he leaned in towards her and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. Zelda felt tempted to break the kiss immediately at first, but found herself actually enjoying it. She began to remember how good it felt when she kissed Link back at Gerudo Fortress. She kissed him back and wrapped her arms around his waist. When Zelda was younger, she always imagined her first kiss to be with a handsome prince that she was going to marry. Now, it was real. Link may not have been a prince, but he was everything that Zelda had wanted. She couldn't believe that she was actually making out with Link under the moonlight in Lake Hylia.

After what seemed like forever, Link broke the kiss and pulled away. Zelda took a moment to recuperate and get out of the romantic mode. Once again, Link was speechless. He kissed the princess of Hyrule! The one girl who was at the highest social class made out with him! Link almost thought like he was having a dream. It wasn't a dream, because the cuts he had from battling the Gerudo thieves stung. Zelda, on the other hand, could only stare into Link's twinkling eyes. He dropped his arms, which were still around Zelda, and stepped back.

"Sorry." Link said looking away blushing.

"Is that what you always say after you kiss a girl?" Zelda couldn't but laugh. It was funny that all he could think of was apologizing, but at the same time, she thought it was cute.

"Well…actually…" Link began.

"It's okay if you do." Zelda wrapped her arms around Link. "I think it's kind of cute."

"No, it's not that. Actually…" Link blushed. "…I've never…kissed a girl before."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You're my first." Link also had his arms wrapped around Zelda.

"So, I guess that means I'm your first girlfriend then?"

"Girlfriend?"

"Yeah, isn't that what normally happens?"

"I don't know. I've never asked a girl to be my girlfriend. I was always…the shy type around girls."

"You're shy?" Zelda asked amused. "That's so cute!" Link smiled down at her as he ran his hand through her sopping wet blonde hair.

"Sorry. There was a strand of hair-"

"Yeah right." Zelda said not believing him. Link laughed and kissed Zelda again.

"Wait…I though that…you wanted to leave." Link said as he broke the kiss.

"I'm sorry. I was just…confused. I didn't know what to feel. I was just afraid…that by having this adolescent crush on you…I would just end up like those younger girls do when they have those crushes…with a broken heart."

Link heaved a sigh and smiled as he pulled Zelda closer to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest, his heart beating rapidly. Link rested his head on Zelda's as the two of them embraced.

"I can now see…that you really _are _who I think you are…" Zelda said.

Zelda felt so happy now. The one she really liked had the same feelings for her and she didn't even have to say anything. Link and Zelda remained in Lake Hylia in each other's arms as they enjoyed the moonlight that made Lake Hylia glow making it a romantic setting for the new young couple.

* * *

**Author's Note: See? I told you you'd love chapter 16! Didn't I? Didn't I? Didn't I? Didn't I? And yes, I **_**did **_**sort of make Zelda an emotional wreck in this fic! I'm sorry! But girls, wouldn't you be an emotional wreck if you were hurt by an arranged fiancée? Anyway, didn't I tell you? Didn't I?**

**Link: Yes! You did! We get it!**

**Me: I thought I silenced you!**

**Link: The power of mine and Zelda's love broke the curse!**

**Me: You mean the love that doesn't exist in the games because Nintendo is scared of showing anything romantic?**

**Link: *pouts***

**Me: Anyway, review please! Hope you enjoyed one of the better chapters of the fanfic! Trust me, it gets better later on! Oh yeah, here's the trivia fact!**

**Trivia: The scene where Link and Zelda kiss in the lake was inspired by the scene in Final Fantasy X where Tidus kisses Yuna in the Macalania Spring. It's such a romantic scene!**


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